//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten // Story: The Legend of Rarity: Zecora's Mask // by LittleAngelStocking //------------------------------// The room was massive. The biggest room in the temple, Rarity estimated. The room was a lot brighter than the other rooms, and there were no puddles, no trees, no chests or monsters of any kind. There were several black, round plants around the room and a single big, yellow flower sat in the middle. “Princess?” Rarity called. “…anypony?” The room started shaking, and Rarity took a cautious step back. A massive shadow grew on the floor, and with a gulp Rarity looked up. A massive pony fell from the ceiling, his hooves hit the ground and Rarity was knocked to the floor. It didn’t have a pony face, the face was more like a mask – a giant sword was held in the grimacing mouth, and a shield was held on one of his forelegs. It had no mane or tail from what she could tell, and it was… orange, and red… no, many tiny colorful stripes adorned its body, forming one giant mass of color. All Rarity could think of was how badly this pony needed a make-over. It was easily ten sizes bigger than she, and it slashed its blade through the air threateningly. Rarity drew her own weapon; the blood seemed to freeze in her veins. In all of her adventures, Equestria or no, never had she seen a creature as ultimately hideous as this one. For once, she actually regretted getting such a tiny little sword. The beast-pony let out an odd war cry, and charged. Rarity galloped out of the way, and backing up she quickly shot an arrow at it. It deflected it with its shield, and attacked with its sword. Rarity dodged just in the nick of time, she felt the tip just barely scrape her just beneath her eye. She knew by this point trying to reason would only be useless, so she didn’t bother. She backed against the wall, and watched as it crouched down, and started spinning not unlike the turtle-things. She yelped and galloped in the opposite direction, then realizing the opportunity, she whirled around and shot it while it span, it stopped letting out a screech, and while it was stunned Rarity ran up to it and slashed at its hooves several times, unable to really get any higher. It jumped up high, and Rarity spun around frantically trying to estimate where it would land. It hit the ground in front of her, the whole room shook and she was knocked down again. Something was falling from the ceiling – giant spiders! Rarity leaped to her hooves – backing away in shock. She just about froze, they were about the size of her whole head! Rarity jumped up, squashing several under her hooves. In a blind panic she ran at the giant, head low. As she got closer, it prepared to cut her down with its sword. As it did, Rarity came to her senses and jumped up as the sword slashed the air underneath her. Seeing an opening, Rarity dove forward stabbing its belly. It shrieked, and jumped up again. As it ascended Rarity shot at it with her remaining arrows, she had no idea if she hit it or not. It came back down, and as it hit the ground Rarity jumped so that she wouldn't be knocked down, those spiders were still on the ground! She attacked the things hooves again but it knocked her back with its shield, and stabbed its sword at her. She jumped back, she felt the tip break the skin on her chest, and gasped. It wasn’t deep, but it was painful. Rarity galloped to the other side of the room, squashing a spider as she went, and turned back towards the pony-beast. It suddenly started doing an odd dance, chanting things Rarity couldn’t make out. Rarity ran at it, sword in her mouth and jumped up, impaling its lower chest. It stopped its dance and bucked forth, knocking her off. Rarity soon realized why it had done the dance, when thousands of big moths fluttered down from the ceiling and towards her. The white unicorn turned tail and fled, screaming. She ran around the room, but the pony-beast ambushed her, preparing to stab. As its sword stabbed towards her she ducked low, ran underneath it and stabbed its lowered chest. It backed away, and raised a hoof. Rarity prepared to flee, but as she started moving its hoof came down on her tail. She gasped and fell to the ground, furious. She used her levitation to use her sword to slash at its hoof, and it released her. By this point its hooves were quite beat up, but Rarity didn’t have time to think about that, there were bugs chasing her! She charged around the room, trying to figure out what to do. It was massive, an overlord of bugs, had several attacks she couldn’t seem to dodge, what could she do?! It wasn’t able to ambush her this time, she kept jerking one direction then the next, but she was still cautious; the moths were literally right on her tail! Rarity ran for the wall, then turned around to run in the other direction but skidded to a stop when a wall of flame blocked her path. She tried the other direction, but she was surrounded by a circle of flames. Luckily, the moths and spiders were stupid enough to go through the flames and got burned to death. The pony-beast slashed and stabbed at her through the flame, but Rarity dodged this way and that. Silently panicking, she picked up one of the black, circular plants that were placed in the corners of the room and threw it over the flames at it. The plant exploded. Bombs? Wait – bombs! Rarity thought joyfully. Maybe she did have an advantage – sadly, the thing had blocked it with its shield, and Rarity backed away, anticipating its next move. It begun doing that weird dance of his again, and Rarity picked up another bomb-plant, (It was the same plant – these things grow impossibly fast!) and telekinetically threw it right at the monsters face. It was knocked back, and other than the fact that the mask was now black and looked charred, it didn’t seem harmed. However, the flames died down allowing Rarity to charge. It saw her coming and raised its shield but Rarity had anticipated this and as she hit it she pressed her hooves into it and propelled herself off, knocking the beast-pony back. Rarity went for its legs, and slashed mindlessly, she wanted to simultaneously shoot it with arrows using levitation, but it would take too much effort and concentration. Rarity was knocked back, this time by the side of its sword, she flew back several feet crashing into the wall, a massive slash running down from her shoulder all the way town to her flank. Dazed, she struggled to her feet as it charged, blade pointed at her. She dropped onto her belly seconds before the sword impaled the wall behind her, she jumped up, still a little dizzy and used her telekinesis to ran a nasty cut down its chest with her tiny sword. She levitated up all the bomb-plants her magic could find and reach, and brought them all charging through the air towards it. She ducked down as she heard the deafening explosions all around, she felt the heat on her back, and heard a scream. She dared to look up, it was falling. Rarity jumped out of the way in the nick of time, as it crashed to the floor and once again she was knocked down. She turned her head as the beast was engulfed by blue flames, she slowly got to her hooves as it disappeared. She could only stare at the ground in nervous anticipation – was this a trick? Would it come back? Was it safe to lower her guard? A noise behind her caused her ears to perk, and she turned around – the yellow flower in the center of the room had some sort of blue aura around it – Rarity took a cautious step forward. She could see something floating inside it – it was… the mask the thing had on? Hesitantly she placed a hoof in the blue – it felt… good. Hard to describe, it felt sort of cold, but not unpleasantly so. She stepped into it, taking the mask in her levitation. She let out a startled whinny when she was lifted off the ground by an unseen force, and was surrounded by an ethereal blue crystal. It started spinning in place, with her spinning in the opposite direction – and then she was floating up into a blinding white light. ~~~ Rarity was standing on a massive platform of some sort. The air felt cool, and there were bluish-white waterfalls everywhere, hardly noticeable behind a pale mist. Big, clear bubbles floated around her. Rarity took a step forward – she could see something beyond the falls. A… giant, red, pony-like thing. Not like the beast she fought, no, this felt… different. She could hardly make it out beyond the mist, but her ears perked when it let out a low, yet very loud sound. As it continued making the noise, Rarity realized it was a tune. Was it… trying to teach her something? Something tugged at the back of her mind... was she forgetting something? Faintly, she levitated her ocarina of to her lips and mimicked the song. It felt… so sad, yet so hopeful to her. She felt amazing – like despite all she had done, what she had to do, despite the time limit and the circumstances… there was hope. Rarity stopped the song, and lowered her head, eyes closed. The creature made another sound, and Rarity listened intently. “Call…. Us….” ~~~ The first thing Rarity noticed was that she was standing on the unique floor of the temple, but this wasn’t the room where she’d fought the beast. An opening was directly in front of her. She noticed she felt… better. Her wounds had healed completely, she realized. She no longer felt dizzy, in fact she felt quite refreshed. All of her cuts had closed, (Although sadly the blood on her coat hadn’t been washed away,) and she sighed. “That was… pleasant. That weird realm, not the fight.” She wanted to cry. Not because she was sad, or hurt, but because she was hopeful. That experience… it was refreshing. The fight had been dreadful, but she’d won. And she didn’t feel at all guilty, no – she’d felt it. The giant in that realm was the giant she’d fought – the mask had cursed it. She could feel it. There were no doubts in her mind that that creature was the being Zecora had told her about. She turned her head when she heard a faint rustling, a giant wooden dome stood against the wall behind her, the small opening thick with vines. “Hello?” she called cautiously, surprised at how strong her voice sounded. It wasn’t gruff, just… stronger. There was no reply, and Rarity used her sword to cut away the vines, and went inside. It was dim, but well-lit enough that Rarity could see the nervous looking zebra in front of her. She was smaller than Rarity had expected – not filly-small, but pony-small, a size smaller than Zecora and most of the other zebra’s Rarity had seen. She wore a headdress of leaves and flower petals, and a necklace of the same make. Her eyes were deep orange. “Um… are you the princess of the zebra?” Rarity asked, already figuring the answer was yes. The princess took a hesitant step forward. “Yes… you… did you defeat Odolwa?” “…Odolwa… was that the big monster with the sword and shield in the big room?” “Yes! Did you defeat it?” Rarity nodded. She felt like she should be proud, but she only felt… empty. “Yes, I did. It was keeping you hostage, no?” “It was!” The princess sighed in relief. “I’m so glad! But – you’re a pony. Father doesn’t like ponies, how did you learn the song to enter the temple?” “Your monkey friend taught me,” Rarity informed. “So he’s okay!” The princess’s face split into a wide smile. “That’s a relief! I was so worried my father would have had him captured, he knew I liked to spend time with him but he never trusted outsiders. But I’m glad to hear…” The princess noticed the deadpan look on Rarity’s face and gulped. “He’s been imprisoned, hasn’t he.” More of a statement than a question. Rarity nodded, and the princess stomped her hoof. “I can’t believe this! Yet another hasty decision, father,” she hissed through her teeth. “Q-quickly, we must hurry!” the princess rushed past Rarity, but stopped with a wince. “Your hoof is hurt,” Rarity exclaimed. “It’s nothing, we need to hurry.” “Absolutely not, dear. Here, allow me to carry you.” She crouched down next to the princess. “Are you… sure?” “Of course,” Hesitantly but not reluctantly the princess climbed into Rarity’s back. “You’re covered in blood!” The princess exclaimed. “Oh, it’s nothing, I’m fine now.” “Are you-“ “Yes, I’m fine. We must hurry if we want to save your friend, here; have some water, being trapped in here this long, you must be parched!” She princess took the now open-bottle of clean water out of Rarity’s levitation and took a small sip. “Wait.” She said as they went out the opening, and, to Rarity’s delight there was a pathway leading directly down to the cave where she’d come to this part of the swamp in. Even better: all the water was clean. “You’re a unicorn!” Rarity didn’t stop walking. “Yes, I am.” Who knew? “But I thought unicorns went extinct centuries ago…” “Um… no? I don’t think so.” Maybe that explains the lack of unicorns in this world, Rarity thought to herself. She hadn’t really paid much notice, but now that she was thinking about it… The rest of the walk was silent. As Rarity backtracked across the giant orange flower-tree things, the princess offered to get off several times, but Rarity refused. “I’m fine, and you’re hurt.” “But it’s not really that bad, I just can’t move very fast,” “It is alright, darling, I think we’ll get there faster this way,” “But aren’t I just weighing you down?” “No, it’s quite alright… Ponies were built to be ridden! No, wait! That came out wrong!” The conversation went on like this until they arrived at the palace, where the princess finally did jump off of Rarity’s back. The guards weren’t anywhere to be seen. “Oh no! The princess cried, “That must mean they’re punishing the monkey! Quickly, we must hurry!” The two galloped in without a moment to lose. The sight in the main chamber caused them both to freeze. It was very crowded and very loud in here – where the big fire was in the middle, there was a massive pot of boiling water. Zebra all around were chanting ‘Punish the monkey! Punish the monkey! Punish the monkey!” Held above the pot, and slowly being lowered in was the monkey, upside down and hanging by his feet, he was struggling wildly. Rarity and the princess dashed around the pot, shoving chanting zebra’s aside and then, in front of the throne, the princess yelled “FATHER, STOP THIS AT ONCE!” The room quieted, and the king looked at his daughter with wide eyes. “My daughter-“ “Save it!” the princess yelled, and used her back hooves to launch herself up towards her father, she pinned him down and proceeded to jump on him several times. (Had the situation not been so desperate, Rarity would have honestly laughed at the silly sight) The zebra jerked her head around, glaring at the guards, who all cowered. “What do you think you’re doing?!” she lashed, “Release the monkey at once!” Without the slightest hesitation the guards scrambled to do just that. ~~~ Rarity, the Princess and the Monkey all stood together in the main chamber, all relieved and happy. The princess had practically tackled the monkey in a hug, Rarity found it quite frankly, adorable, for lack of a better word. “Thank you so much, Miss Rarity,” the orange-eyed, striped princess smiled. “Yes,” the monkey agreed, “Thank you. Without you, the princess would’ve been toast!” “Actually, you’d be toast,” the princess smirked. Rarity smiled, “It’s no trouble.” That was a lie. It was a lot of trouble. “Please,” the princess begun, “I would like to reward you for your bravery,” “Actually…” Rarity hated to say it. “I… don’t need a reward.” “Please, I must insist!” “No, no. It’s quite alright, and I do hate to cut this short, but I must now take my leave.” She saw a flash of disappointment in the princess’s eyes, and gave a short bow. She was a princess, after all. “Thank you though,” “Thank you,” both the princess and the monkey said together. “I would like to say,” The princess said, “That you are always welcomed here. No matter what father thinks of outsiders.” Rarity smiled, and turned to leave. “Thanks.” ~~~ It took Rarity quite a while to find the fairy’s fountain; it was behind Woodfall Temple to her annoyance. It was a large cave, and inside was a spring, white pillars surrounded it. As she walked closer, all fifteen fairies appeared in front of her and circled around her for a few seconds, before all flying towards the spring and disappearing, then, there was an ear-splitting laugh and a pony that Rarity could easily confirm as the weirdest she’s ever seen appeared over the water. She was like a much larger version of the smaller fairies, pink with butterfly wings, antenna, and glowing. Her eyes were caked with so much makeup they should be stuck shut. “Thank you, adventurer-” she smiled. I’m no adventurer, Rarity thought irritably. “-For returning my broken and shattered body back to normal. I am the great fairy of magic, and I will reward you for your kindness.” “Yes, please do.” Rarity said, actually a little eager. The creature lowered her hornless head, and Rarity felt a strange power surge through her. She blinked as she was lifted into the air, she felt… powerful! Like she could do all the tricks Twilight could no sweat! “I bless you with a stronger magical ability, from now on you can cast stronger spells and not wear out as easily.” “Oh, um… thank you.” Rarity said. “May light shine on your quest…” And with that, she disappeared. ~~~ Rarity sucked in the fresh air of the field, glad to be out of that dreaded swamp. Not so much a swamp now, the water was now clean and drinkable, but it was still a swamp. It was about mid-evening, she saw. The sky was light purple, a bright orange on the horizon. And that moon ruined what would otherwise be a beautiful sight. Her next destination was Snowhead – but first, she wanted to go to clock town to purchase a shield and a scarf (What? It was called snowhead,) and much to her annoyance and relief she didn’t feel at all sleepy. When that weird realm had healed her wounds, it had also refreshed her. So while she was feeling tired from her trek and carrying the princess; it wasn’t sleepy tired. She headed towards the town, hoping to catch the shops before they closed. She noticed… things flying around the fields. Like, giant blue flames flying around but they were far enough away that Rarity couldn’t really make them out. With a shrug, and feeling more than a little nervous she quickened her pace. Clock Town was quiet, and Rarity felt a sense of déjà vu. Oh wait. She hoped to catch the general store before it was too late. She hurried to the left, through the opening and up the stairs. The general store was halfway up the stairs, across from the bank. To her relief it was open. This was the same place she’d gotten her sword. She walked up to the counter, where the pony behind it was furiously scratching his back, as he’d been when she’d been here earlier. Sadly, there was only one shield. It had tiny blue lines all over it, a few red ones scattered here and there forming a weird pattern. “I’ll take the shield,” She said. “That will be thirty bits,” Rarity pushed her bits over the counter and he gave her the shield. “Ugly, but it will have to do,” she said. She left with a thank you headed out towards the clock tower. Which direction was Snowhead in again? To the north, that’s right. In the opposite direction of the swamp. Rarity headed in that direction, north Clock Town was the area with the playground. She noticed a shady looking pony behind the slide, but shrugged it off. An elderly mare with a bag over her shoulder was entering the town. Rarity smiled and waved when she passed. “Right,” she said to herself. “I think I’m ready to go-“ “Oh, no, help! My bag!” Rarity turned in time to see the shady pony had snatched the bag off of the old pony’s shoulder and was galloping for the exit, towards Rarity. Rarity jumped out of the way as he passed, but turned around and bucked him in the side, he slid into the wall dropping the bag, but continued running beyond the city limits – right past the guard. “Guard!” Rarity yelled, “Stop that thief!” “Huh what? Oh, he’s gone now.” The guard said with a shrug. “But… but…” Silently fuming, Rarity picked up the bag in her mouth and headed to the old mare. “Oh, thank you missy!” the pale blue mare swung the bag back over her shoulder. “That’d have been the third time my bombs were stolen, had you not come along!” “…Bombs?” Rarity asked. “Yes, I work the bomb shop with my son here in clock town. You should stop by, I’ll give you a special discount! Oh, and please, I must reward you.” She dug around in the bag and pulled out a mask. It was blue, with skull and crossbones on it. “What is it?” Rarity asked picking it up in her levitation. “A mask, a particularly useful mask. If you ever find yourself out of bombs, you can put this mask on and it will explode.” Rarity looked it over for the longest time. “You’re telling me… that this mask explodes. On your face. Like, kaboom.” “Eeyup!” she said proudly. “Um… no, I think I’ll just have regular bombs.” Several minutes later, with an apple in her stomach Rarity had an ice blue scarf around her neck, matching boots and was heading towards Snowhead to the “far” north. The entire area around the threshold between Snowhead and the field was snowy, and an icy breeze blew her abused mane around her face. “Snow or no snow, at least it isn’t swamp.” She huffed as she headed forward. As she trotted, she briefly wondered how Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were. The poor things were up on the clock tower with Sweetie Belle, probably starving and being abused by the horrid mask. She knew they were alive and well, though. Technically speaking, that confrontation up on the clock tower happened the day after tomorrow, when she’d gone up there they’d been fine. She was pulled out of her thoughts by an icy chill, and looked up at the snowy path ahead of her. “Here goes nothing…”