//------------------------------// // The Summoning // Story: Masquerade // by Darth Cookie //------------------------------// Written by: Darth Cookie & Darthvalgaav Andrew Loken had been sitting at the counter when he heard the door open. He looked up from his computer, ready to greet the customer. Instead he held back a groan. It was Mrs. Finkel. She was a woman in her early sixties with short bottle brown hair and cold blue eyes. She was wearing a yellow summer dress and in her hand was a baggie. “Can I help you?” asked Andrew with all the pleasantness he could muster for this woman. At sixteen, Andrew was average in height with dark hair and green eyes. And while it was the middle of July he was wearing a short sleeve shirt, jeans, and steal toe boots. “I found this in my daughter’s room last night,” she practically yelled as she lifted the baggie. Andrew looked at its contents for a moment and then back to Mrs. Finkel. “Incense?” “I found this…this filth in my house.” Mrs. Finkel was now yelling more loudly and out of the corner of his eye Andrew could see a crowd gathering outside the store, watching and listening to see what would happen. She wasn’t always like this. Mrs. Finkel used to be one of those moms who used to organize school events and made sure kids had a good time. But then something changed. All of a sudden she became against things like parties that took place in school. Thanks to her Clare Elementary, Middle, and High Schools were unable to have their annual Halloween Party or its Winter Break Bash. Both parties were only an hour long, but that was too long for her taste. It wasn’t just parties but also violent video games, most of the shows on television, meat, and just about everything that was fun in life. Andrew had also heard that for the last couple of years she had been going to stores trying to force them not to sell holiday treats and candies. Word on the street was that she was aiming to stop kids from going Trick or Treating this year. This ticked Andrew off big time. Halloween was his favorite holiday. He loved it more than Christmas! Ever since he was a young boy he had always made his own costumes instead of buying them from a store. He loved to decorate his home to make it look spooky and watch scary movies in the dark. He loved to roast marshmallows over an open fire while telling ghost stories. One time he turned the front and back yard of his parent’s house into a haunted maze for the trick or treater’s. This made him Mrs. Finkel’s mortal enemy. Her daughter, Jenny, felt the bulk of resentment for her mother’s actions. Since the children couldn’t do anything to Mrs. Finkel, Jenny became their target. While Jenny was in High School with Andrew, many of the kids in town had younger brothers or sisters. Jenny found horrible notes stuffed in her locker, money stolen, or was simply tripped up. Andrew felt sorry for her, knowing it wasn’t fair for her to pay for her mother’s actions. “Look,” said Andrew calmly. “If you have a problem with incense then you should take it up with your daughter. It’s not illegal.” “It’s not just the incense,” yelled Mrs. Finkel as she tossed the baggie on the counter. “It’s this whole devil worshiping store!” Andrew rolled his eyes. “Ma’am, this is an import store.” The store, Never Seen Before, was Clare’s one and only import store. On the wall hung Native American dream catchers, Japanese wall scrolls, African wood wooden masks and several other interesting items. On the shelves were statues made of wood and stone, books, incense with various types of burners, and other items from all over the world. Inside the bullet proof glass counter was where he kept the more dangerous stuff: swords and daggers. Off to the side of the room were two suits of silver looking armor that looked like they were guarding the stairway in between them. Mrs. Finkel shook her head and grabbed an African mask. “You dare say that when you sell items like this!?” she hollered. At first glance the mask did look menacing. It had large, sharp fangs and six eye holes. “I can understand why you might think that,” replied Andrew as he tried to calm her down. “But that mask is believed to scare away evil spirits. Well, if you believe in that sort of stuff.” Mrs. Finkel glared at him and looked like she was ready to throw the mask onto the ground. But she remembered the stores policy of if you break it you buy it. She set the mask back down before looking for something else that would help her argument. She then matched over to the book shelf, picked one up, and then held it in front of herself. “You are selling books on witchcraft!” “No, that’s a book on wiccans. If you actually read the book before you passed judgment you would see that all it does is talk about their culture and beliefs.” “Devil worship and virgin sacrifices!” “What’s going on in here?” came a voice as the door opened. Standing there was a man in a deputy’s uniform. He was about twenty seven years old with a buzz cut and blue eyes. “Finally, the sheriff sent someone to take care of this place,” said Mrs. Finkel with a nasty grin. “Not exactly,” said the deputy. “The sheriff sent me to find out what all the shouting was about. We could hear it all the way from Cops and Doughnuts.” Cops and Doughnuts was a doughnut shop that was owned by the sheriff and was very popular. “Look Mrs. Finkel, we have checked this place out three times at your request. Twice we had drug sniffing dogs check the place out. This isn’t a secret drug den or anything like that. It’s just a simple store that you just don’t like.” Mrs. Finkel didn’t like that answer very much. She glared at the deputy and made a promise to herself to find a way to get him off the force. She then slammed the book she had been holding onto the ground. “How dare you claim to be protecting the peace when you allow scum like him to do as he pleases?” she demanded as she pointed an accusing finger at Andrew. “He is corrupting the children of this town and undermining authority. If you and the sheriff won’t do something then perhaps I’ll lend my support to his opponent next election.” She then spun around and looked at the sixteen year old with all the hate she could muster. “And you! How your parents managed to put up with you is a mystery to me! You should have died in that car crash instead of them!” At that, Andrew tightened his fists. “Mrs. Finkel!” shouted the deputy. “Get out. Now.” Mrs. Finkel looked at him for a moment before she stormed towards the door. Before she left, however, she gave Andrew one last glare that said this wasn’t over. Deputy Rick let out a sigh as he watched her leave before turning his attention back towards Andrew. It had been a year since the car crash that had taken the boy’s parents away. He had been on the site and was also the one who had to deliver the news to Andrew and his two siblings. After that, Andrew was sent to live with his godmother in Detroit while his brother and sister stayed with their aunt and uncle who lived in town. But just three months later Andrew came back to town and had been emancipated. His godmother even helped him out with a start up loan to get this store! While Andrew seemed to be doing alright after his parent’s death, the same could not be said about his brother and sister. Rick had heard that his younger sister, Lisa, had been suspected of tampering with bank records after large amount of money seemed to appear into her bank account from out of nowhere. Then his brother, Will, had been involved in a scandal with one of his teachers. Both were oddly covered up quickly and, according to the rumor mill, the two were then sent away to military school. “She shouldn’t have said that,” said Rick after awhile. “No,” replied Andrew flatly as he looked out the store window. The crowd had left when Mrs. Finkel had stormed out the door. “But she did.” Rick let out another sigh, wishing he could help out more. It was just that no one wanted to really go against Mrs. Finkel. Everyone who had she just drove out of town. It was always her way or the highway. The least Rick could do was put away the book she had thrown on the ground. Yet as he put it back on the bookshelf another book caught his eye. “Voodoo and You: A Complete Guide,” he read as he pick up the book. “Is this any good?” “Depends on what you’re looking for,” said Andrew with a small smile. “It’s an excellent recourse guide if you don’t know anything about voodoo. It goes into great detail and is easy to read. But, if you were hoping to use what you read well then that’s a different story. Let’s just say that if it worked then I would have used it to take away Mrs. Finkel’s voice.” Rick laughed as he pulled out his wallet. “Yeah,” he said as he paid for the book. “After all, there’s no such thing as magic.” After Rick left, Andrew noticed that the deputy had miss-shelved the book. The teen then made a gesture with his hand and the book began to float in the air until it was back in its proper place. -x- At that same moment, Twilight Sparkle was just getting up. She had stayed up later than usual to study and had forgotten to set her alarm clock. Opening her eyes, she saw that it was another perfect day in Equestria. The sun was shining, the temperature was pleasant, and there was barely a cloud in the sky. Of course, Rainbow was taking care of that problem right now leaving behind a rainbow colored blur. As she rolled out of bed, Twilight made her way to her mirror, levitated the comb, and began to brush her mane. Once that was done, she made her way downstairs for a late breakfast. As she walked down the stairs, a strange site greeted her. All over her library floor were large brown boxes. Each one was about three feet tall and looked very heavy. How they got here without waking her was a mystery. “Morning sleepyhead,” said Spike as he poped his head out of the kitchen. “Morning Spike,” said Twilight as she maneuvered her way across the library floor. When she got to the kitchen she saw that Spike had already left out a bowl of oats and a few apples for her. Said dragon was sitting at the table eating some gems. “What’s with all the boxes?” “Oh those,” said Spike as he looked up. “They came this morning along with a letter from the princess.” He then pointed to a letter on the table before going back to his meal. Twilight looked at the letter and then quickly used her magic to levitate it in front of her. As she sat down at the table she began to read the letter with great interest. ‘To my dearest Twilight Sparkle,’ it read. ‘I hope you are doing well. For some time now I have watched your studies from afar and feel that the time is right for you to begin the next level of your education. I am sure by now you have noticed the many boxes in the Ponyville Library. In them you will find books full of more advanced magic. Perhaps one of them will have information that might help out a certain friend. I know you will be diligent in your studies. Signed, Princess Celestia.’ Once Twilight finished reading the letter she jumped out of her seat and ran out of the kitchen. Once she was back in the library she began to magically open the boxes. Inside them were large, thick books that caused the unicorns heart to skip a beat. It was moments like this that Twilight lived for, learning new spells. Well that, her friends, and pleasing the princess. Oh and also organizing new books which were something else she could do now. “I can tell that this day is going to be great!” exclaimed Twilight with a big smile. -x- “Sorry my mom ruined your day,” said Jenny. It was several hours later and Andrew was on his lunch break, a simple bowl of instant ramen noodles. Right now, the two of them were on the second level of Andrew’s store where he lived. It was like living in a small three room apartment. The main room was like a combination kitchen and living room. There were two doors in the entire place. One led to Andrew’s room while the other lead to a storage area. Truth be told Jenny had never been in the second room. She had never been in the second room and all she knew was that on both sides of the door were two suits of black armor holding swords that looked like they were guarding it. Near the table where they were sitting was a stairway down to the store. “I wouldn’t say she ruined it,” said Andrew as he put his fork down. “It just got off to an unpleasant start.” Jenny let out a laugh and then looked around his place. “I still can’t believe that this is all yours,” she said. “It must be like a dream.” “It’s alright,” said Andrew modestly. “So, how did you convince your godmother?” “Well, let’s just say that city life didn’t agree with me. But it’s not like she has completely forgotten about me either. She comes by every now and then to check up on me and the store.” As he said this he checked the clock and frowned. “Speaking of which, I’d better be getting back to work.” “Ok then, I’ll get out of your hair,” said Jenny as she got up and walked towards the stairs. “Hey Jenny, can I ask you a quick question?” Jenny paused at the first step before she turned to face Andrew. “I’m sure you know how your mom feels about incense so I’m just a little curious about why you keep buying it from me.” Jenny gave him a small grin. “Because it drives her up the wall,” she said in a matter of fact tone. “Also, when my boyfriend comes over he likes to smoke and the incense helps cover up the smell.” Andrew shook his head as Jenny descended down the stairs. He got up, put his now empty bowl in the sink, and then walked over to the room guarded by the two suits of armor. He pulled out a key to unlock the door before entering the room which held things that would cause Mrs. Finkel to start up a witch hunt. Inside the room were a few book cases that held large tomes as well as what looked like a couple of spice racks that held jars of oddly colored liquids. In the middle of the room was a circular table that had runes engraved into it. In the middle of the table was a book that wasn’t there when he had last been in this room. The male teen picked it up and saw it was entitled The Art of Summoning. Andrew suddenly heard a meow behind him. He turned around to find a white cat as well as an iguana standing just outside the doorway. Both of their gazes were focused upon him. “Hey dummy,” said the cat in a female voice. “Stop being lazy and feed me, you stupid idiot!” “And clean my cage while you’re at it,” said the iguana. Andrew could do nothing but sigh at his sibling’s demands. -x- Back in Equestria, Twilight was heading down to Sweat Apple Acres. Since she read the letter from Princess Celestia she had been very busy. The first thing she did was to read the title of each book and then glance over them briefly to see what they were about. Once that was done Twilight made a list of each book and placed them in the order she felt would be best to read them in. After that she shelved them into their proper spots within her library. However this took a lot of time so she decided to head out to Apple Jack’s farm to get a snack as well as spend some time with one of her friends. As she walked there with Spike, who was sleeping on her back, her head was already in one of her new books. What made this one so special was that there was a pink bookmark in it that none of the others had. Something told her that this was that book that the princess had mentioned in her letter. “Howdy Twi,” came the southern voice of her friend Apple Jack. Twilight looked up from her book to find the orange earth pony did not seem like her cheerful self. Twilight knew that things had gotten harder at the farm lately, but Apple Jack looked like she was about to cry. “Apple Jack, is something wrong?” asked Twilight as she magically put her new book in her saddle bag. “Well…I guess there’s no point in puttin it off any longer,” she said. “Actually, I was planning on seein ya soon to ask ya for a big favor.” “Well I’ll see what I can do,” responded Twilight. “Do ya think ya can talk to the princess for me?” she asked. “Ya see Twilight, Princess Celestia ordered a large amount of Sweet Apple Acres apples for some big shindig she’s havin. Paid a lot too upfront an everything.” “Wow, that’s great news,” said Twilight. “Yeah it was,” replied Apple Jack. “But the train broke down and it won’t be up an runnin for several days. Maybe even a couple of weeks! No way we’ll be able to move all them apples in time. They have to be there by then end of the week!” “Gee, that is a problem,” said Twilight in understanding. “I guess you’ll have to return the money.” Apple Jack shook her head. “No can do,” she said. “The money’s gone. Had to use some of it to fix the barn roof after it collapsed in the storm last week. And I’m sure you heard that Granny Smith and Apple Bloom are in the hospital. Had to use the rest of the bits for that.” She then looked off at the apple fields and sighed in despair. “It’ll be bad enough for business that we had to cancel such an important order, but if any pony finds out that we didn’t return the money it will ruin us.” She then turned to face her lavender friend. “That’s why we need to ask the princess if she wouldn’t mind waitin or bein paid in installments.” Twilight felt bad for her friend and what this meant to her family. Nearly all their money went into the farm for one reason or another while the rest of it was saved up for the winter season. But because of this, they might lose their farm either way. But despite that Apple Jack was still going to try to do the right thing and repay the princess. Then Twilight had an idea. She quickly pulled out the book she was reading earlier and began to flip through the pages until she found what she was looking for. “Aha!” she cried out once she had found what she was looking for. She then turned to look at Apple Jack who had a confused look on her face. “A.J., go get the other girls. I have a plan!” It was an hour later when Apple Jack returned with Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Then they stood before Twilight, she had a look of pride in herself. On the ground next to her were several magical symbols that had been carved into the ground. “Ok we’re here,” said Rainbow Dash who was hovering in the air. “Now what’s going on? I was working on a wicked cool trick to impress the Wonder Bolts.” “I called you all here so we can help Apple Jack deliver the princess’s apple order to Canterlot,” replied Twilight. The others just looked at her in confusion. “Ah Twilight, I reckon that to be impossible,” said Apple Jack. “It would take two trips to deliver all them apples and it’s at least a day’s journey to Canterlot by train. So how’d you figure we’d get them there?” “I’m glad you asked,” said Twilight who could barely contain herself. “We’re going to use a portal spell!” “You mean you can teleport all of those apples dear?” asked Rarity in amazement. “No,” said Twilight as she shook her head. “Teleportation and portals are two different things. A teleportation spell is a simple, but draining spell that allows a pony to cross a certain amount of distance easily. However portal spells are more complicated to set up, but are far less draining. What they do is create a doorway between two set points that allow instant travel between them. It works by opening a whole into another dimension where time and space are twisted and then punching another hole at the spot you want to go to. Once that is done the two openings are then connected allowing for one or many ponies to use them. Once they are connected even a filly could open up a portal.” The girls looked at Twilight with blank expressions on their faces. Then they all looked at Spike, who had been standing nearby, hoping that he would be able to say it simpler. “Sorry, but this is the second time I’ve heard her say it and I still don’t understand,” he said with a shrug. With a frustrated sigh, Twilight pulled out a piece of spare paper she had in her saddle bag. “Are we going to do origami now?’ asked Pinkie Pie as she jumped up and down. “I love origami. I can make a duck, a squirrel, Fluttershy, and Rarity!” As the hyper pink pony pulled out paper from nowhere and began to show her friends her impressive paper folding skills, Twilight punched a hole into her sheet of paper at the bottom. Then she magically labeled one of it Ponyville and then wrote down Canterlot at the top of the page. “Ok,” she said as she got every ponies attention. “I’ll simplify this as best I can. We go in through the Sweet Apple Acres hole.” Twilight then used her magic to fold the paper in half. As she did so she also punched a hole where she wrote Canterlot. Soon the two hole where perfectly aligned. “And then we come out at Canterlot.” “Oooh,” said all the ponies as Twilight put away the paper. “Ah, is it safe?” asked Fluttershy nervously. “For the most part,” answered Twilight. “Once we’re in we’ll have only thirty eight minutes to leave this dimension and then place the runes at the exit point. If we don’t then we’ll be stuck there. But I’m not too worried about that because I already asked Spike to send a letter to Princess Celestia asking her to place a beacon spell in the palace garden. That way I’ll have a better idea on where to exit. Also we’ll be leaving Spike out here so if we’re not out in time he can contact the princess for help.” “Why can’t she just place the runes herself?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I mean, wouldn’t that save a lot of time?” “Magic has its own set of rules,” said Rarity. “Sometimes it can be so frustrating. Most likely the spell requires the same pony that set up the runes at one end to place the runes at the exit.” “That’s exactly right Rarity,” said Twilight with a grin. “It’s meant to keep portal spell from merging with others and sending ponies to the wrong destination.” “I guess that also means that there’s a reason why you need us to go with you,” said Rarity. “Well, the spell strongly suggests that a large group goes through the first time,” replied Twilight. “Also I would feel a lot better if you all came with me.” “No way am I sittin this one out while ya’ll rickin ya hooves to help me,” said Apple Jack. “Miss a free trip to Canterlot?” stated Rarity. “Never!” “Sounds like it might be cool,” said Rainbow. “I’m in.” “It would be the perfect way to visit Doughnut Joes!” cheered Pinkie. After that all eyes turned to look at Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus gulped as she lowered her body closer to the ground. What she had just heard sounded dangerous. She was afraid. What if something went wrong? Who would take care of her animals? She was about to say no in a polite manner when she suddenly thought of something else. What if something happened to her friends and she wasn’t there? She would be all alone. What if they got hurt and she wasn’t there to help make them better? With a sigh, she knew what she had to say. “I’ll go,” said Fluttershy meekly. “There’s nothing to worry about,” said Twilight as she began to cast the spell. “With all of us together, what can go wrong?” -x- “Well this isn’t right,” said Andrew as he picked up the apple he had summoned. While he had managed to summon it from a different location…he had been trying to summon a pineapple. After Jenny had left and he had gotten his new book, Andrew had spent the rest of his work day reading it instead of watching YouTube on his computer. He had taken the precaution of putting on a fake book cover on it to ensure that no one would know what he was reading. As far as anyone who noticed the book was concerned he was reading Wolfheart. One of the rules that people like him had to follow was to keep magic a secret at all costs. If anyone ever found out it would be Salem all over again. It was simply human nature to hunt down and persecute others for being different or being able to do something that others couldn’t understand. The summoning spell had two parts making it sound simple; banishing and repositioning. First the caster had to select an item anywhere on the planet and then move it to a different dimension. Once there the caster of the spell could then return it to this dimension, but near the casters location. Andrew was about to try again when he heard the TV turn on. When he turned around he saw his sister watching It Takes Two…again. He hated that annoying Olsen twins movie. Looking around he also noticed that his brother was at his personal computer. “Hey stupid,” said the cat as she kept her eyes on the TV. “Bring me my dinner, now! And I want the canned food this time.” “You know that saying please goes a long way,” said Andrew. The cat turned to look at him with an annoyed look. “Please stop being a retard and get your stupid butt in gear,” she said with a slight growl. Andrew sighed. Even after being turned into a cat by the Council of Seven, Lisa still remained the spoiled brat she had always been. Lisa and Will had always been the favorites in his family. Lisa was his parent’s only daughter and was treated like a princess since the day she was born. Will believed himself to be God’s gift to women and was a star athlete. He was good at football, soccer, hockey, and baseball. His parents were positive that one day he would end up in a hall of fame one day. Sadly Andrew, the oldest, had always been seen as a letdown. He wasn’t good at sports, never been on a date, no super star looks, or anything else like that. All he had going for him was a little more skill with magic than the rest of his family and his creative talent with Halloween. He was also a straight A/B student, but his parents only comment was it wasn’t good enough and that he was being lazy. They treated him like he was worthless as did his siblings. After the accident that took his parents lives, Andrew thought that the abuse was over. Sadly he was wrong. Both his brother and sister believed now they could do whatever they wanted with their magical powers thus breaking several rules within the magical community. Once they were found guilty they were sentenced to a year in animal form pending a review. And with his aunt and uncle being unable to have pets in their apartment Andrew was forced to take them in. “Get me some food while you’re at it,” said Will who was still in front of the computer. “One sec,” replied Andrew. “I’m going to give this spell one more try.” With that, Andrew closed his eyes and began to focus on a pineapple. -x- “Ouch,” cried Pinkie Pie as something fell on her head. The mares had already entered the portal entrance and were now looking for the exit point. They walked in a straight line in this dimension of swirling blue lights that seemed to go on forever. Twilight was in front, her horn glowing as she tried her best to focus on the princess’s beacon. Behind her was Pinkie Pie followed by Rarity and then Apple Jack. Fluttershy was in the way back keeping her eyes on Rainbow Dash’s hooves. To keep them all safe, Twilight had cast a magical linking spell that would keep them close by so no pony would get lost. “Where did that come from?” asked Rarity who had seen it appear out of nowhere. Twilight turned her head and used her magic to bring the pineapple closer to her. “Pinkie, did you bring this by any chance?” she asked the pink earth pony. “No way would I just bring a plain old pineapple,” replied Pinkie. “I would have brought pineapple upside down cake, pineapple cupcakes, pineapple chip cookies, and…” The list seemed to go on forever. -x- Andrew was sure he had gotten the right target this time. He was about to summon the pineapple to him when he heard a moaning sound. His eyes flew open as he turned around to look at the computer. Sure enough, his brother was watching porn…again. Anger began to build inside Andrew but he did his best to keep it down. “Turn that crap off,” said Andrew. “But I already paid for the hour,” replied Will who kept his eyes on the screen. “It would be a waste of your money if I stopped now.” “M-my what?” demanded Andrew. “Yeah, your money,” replied the iguana as he now looked at his brother with a smug look. “Well, my money now. I transferred your money into one of my fake accounts. Oh, by the way, you’re in the red right now.” Will was about to turn his attention back to the screen, but he stopped when he saw sparks fly around Andrew. Anger and rage were now flowing through him with enough power to manifest them around his body. He had taken their crap for years, even more now since they became animals. That money wasn’t just his to live on, but for the store as well! How would he pay the rent or purchase new items to sell? And neither one of them seemed to care! In his rage Andrew decided to finish the summoning spell so he would have something to bash both their heads in. -x- “What’s going on?” cried Twilight. The pineapple she had been holding up with her magic suddenly began to shoot out sparks of electricity. Scared of what was happening, and having no idea why, Twilight tried to release the pineapple but found herself unable to do so. She could only watch in horror as the sparks began to cover her body as well. It wasn’t painful, but she could feel a great anger within the sparks as well as a great sadness. “Twilight,” called out the others. Twilight turned her head to look at them, but her vision was now blocked by the sparks that now consumed her entire body. She wanted to tell them to get out of here, but found herself unable to open her mouth. But if she could see it would have been the sight of her friends who were also being consumed by the sparks. The next thing she knew was the feeling of being pulled down and the linking spell snapping. And then everything went black. -x- Back at Andrew’s place, a pineapple appeared in his hands. He began to feel his anger slip seeing that he had finally gotten what he had wanted. He then looked at his siblings and took a deep breath. They weren’t worth it. Then, without any warning at all, something else materialized in his living room. It just seemed to fall from his ceiling and landing on the ground with a thud. Andrew stared at it for a moment. “Did I just summon a pony?”