//------------------------------// // The Lost Six // Story: Masquerade // by Darth Cookie //------------------------------// Her entire body stung, it wasn’t painful, more irritating than anything. But it was enough to bring her back to consciousness. Slowly, Twilight blinked opened her eyes. At first everything was blurry, but her vision quickly began to clear. “Did I just summon a pony?” she heard somepony say. She turned her head towards the source of the voice, her eyes widened in shock as she beheld a creature she had never seen before. She jumped up, screaming for help. She called to her friends hoping they were near. The creature seemed just as shocked as she was. He stood there with a look of awe on his face before he snapped out of his thoughts. He hurriedly brought a single finger to his lips and made a zipping motion, which sealed Twilights lips closed disabling her power to speak. She backed away in fear of what else this strange creature would do to her. Her heart started pounding as she felt her tail bump into a corner. She cringed as the creature stepped closer towards her with its strange two legs. Twilight closed her eyes, preparing for the worst, but for several moments nothing happened. Then she felt something stroking her main in a soothing manner. She opened her eyes to find that it was the creature who was stroking her calmly with its odd five pronged limb. She looked in his eyes and saw concern not anger. “I’m sorry if I frightened you,” it said, judging by the deep voice, Twilight assumed it was male. “But I can’t have you waking up the entire neighborhood. Now, if you promise not to scream I’ll cancel the spell alright?” Twilight nodded which appeared to be enough for the creature for he brought the same finger back to his lips and made an unzipping motion. “T…Th...thank… you,” Twilight tested her voice nervously. “You’re welcome,” the creature replied giving her a small smile. “My name is Andrew Loken. Could you tell me yours?” “Twilight,” she hesitantly responded. “Twilight Sparkle” She then gave him a funny look. “You’re taking this better than me. Does this happen often?” “Naw, I’m just use to talking animals,” laughed Andrew as he pointed behind him. Twilight looked over his shoulder and saw a white cat along with an iguana. She raised an eyebrow inquisitively as the cat jumped off the couch and walked towards them. “I want my food and I want it NOW!” yelled Lisa as she scratched Andrew with her very sharp claws. Twilight watched in horror as his shirt sleeve was slashed and a trickle of blood appeared. Andrew hissed as he held his wound tightly. Before Twilight could offer her help, Andrews hand began to glow a light blue. When he removed his hand she saw the wound was healed and his shirt repaired. “What are they?” Twilight whispered as Andrew stood up. “My siblings,” he replied bitterly. He gestured to a cabinet. The door opened revealing the cat and iguana food. They flouted out towards the two pet bowels, filling them. His siblings walked over to them without a word of thanks. Andrew moved to the couch and sat down. He motioned Twilight to sit with him. “Now then, where did you come from?” XXX “Wow, what a trippy trip of a trip,” said Pinky Pie as she woke up. She was out in a field somewhere. The others were nowhere to be seen, but this did not upset the party pony. There was not a doubt in her mind that her friends were safe. They’re just a little lost, she thought, and it’s up to me to find them. Unless I’m the one who is lost, then they have to find me, either way it’s all good. Suddenly, a brightly colored light appeared at the other end of the field. She could also hear fun music and pony’s laughing and cheering. Pinkie took in a deep breath to find the air smelled like sweet treats. If I were my friends, that’s where I would go, Pinkie smiled as she hopped over to the circus. XXX “This is THE…WORST…PLACE…EVER!” declared Rarity in her normal drama queen fashion, but she was probably right for she was in a dirty ally way. All around her she saw trash, grime, and a few rats here and there. It took all of her will power to stop herself from passing out. Shivering in disgust, she headed towards the way out. Despite the darkness she moved fast to get out of her personal nightmare. When she escaped from the grim pit, she saw the biggest building she had ever seen in her life. This must be Manehatten, she concluded, although why they haven’t cleaned in years is anypony’s guess. That thought was crushed, however, when a giant creature zoomed past her on a paved street, almost running her over. The creature was bigger than a bear, yet instead of legs it had wheels. Terrified, and despite her disgust, Rarity ran back to the safety of the ally only to trip on something. She got up to glare at the offending object but found that it was a beautiful golden bracelet embedded with diamonds. “Ohhh, how lovely” she cooed as sparkles filled her eyes. “HEY, that’s mine!” a voice shouted from behind her. XXX “Now where the hey am I?” cried Apple Jack, from what she could tell she was on an apple orchard. But she knew it wasn’t hers. The ground looked unkempt as if nopony had tended it in a long time. Rotten apples littered the ground and gave off a fowl stench. AJ shook her head as she walked. How could anypony treat an apple orchard with such carelessness, she thought. She called out to her friends, hoping that they were nearby. AJ eventually stumbled upon a two story farmhouse with a barn next to it just like Sweet Apple Acers. Just like the house, it needed serious repair. The house shutters were crocked, paint was peeling off, the barn door didn’t exist, and a host of other problems. Apple Jack ran up to the house. If there’s somepony home they can tell me where I’m at, she decided. She was half way there when suddenly the door burst open revealing a creature Apple Jack had never seen before. AJ immediately found shelter in a nearby bush, gazing at the odd creature from her hiding spot, she saw that the creature was a two legged female. She wore an orange and red plaid shirt and blue jeans. Judging by her grey mane and sun spots, AJ assumed she was very old. She also wore dark sunglasses even though it was night. In her hand was a long stick that she waved in the air menacingly. “Who’s there?” she called out, her voice sounding strong for her age. AJ didn’t respond though, she didn’t want to see what the old lady would do with that stick. “If that’s you Millzard or one of ya hooligans, I’m not leaving my home. You’ll have to drag my dead body out of here first before I give into you. Now get off my property before I call the cops!” Apple Jack didn’t know who this Millzard person was or what a cop was, but by the lady’s tone a cop sounded like a guard. And if the guards hear were anything like this creature, she didn’t want to know what they would do to her. The farm pony gathered her courage and stepped out of the bush she was hiding in, hoping to reason with the creature. “I’m sorry for bothering you,” her voice causing the elder woman’s head to snap in her direction, “but I’m lost and I can’t find my friends.” The woman tilted her head in confusion. The voice sounded young, too young for one of Millzard’s cronies. She also sounded scared, yet sincere. “Lost huh,” the woman replied smiling gently, “Well, can’t let you shiver out here all night come on in. We’ll figure out what to do in the morning.” “Ya mean it?” asked a shocked Apple Jack, “You’re not bothered with the way I look?” “Honey,” started the old woman sweetly, “I don’t give a darn how you look. I’m blind.” XXX Major Burns was closing in on the target in his F-16. He didn’t know what it was, but it was in U.S air space. For all he knew it could be a terrorist air craft, and if it was, he was going to take it down. Soon the target came into view, which caused Burns to wonder if there was a leak in his oxygen tank. Flying in front of him was a pony, but it had wings. He was sure he had heard about them in stories and movies, but he didn’t pay much attention to the name. However he was sure that, whatever it was called, it shouldn’t be blue with a rainbow mane. As Major Burns turned on his jet camera to record the pony, it turned its head around to look at him. Even in the dark, he could make out its expression of curiosity. Suddenly it turned around and flew right at him until it landed on the glass windshield of the F-16. “Oh my gosh,” he could hear it say, “There’s something inside this thing. HEY ARE YOU ALRIGHT? DID THIS THING EAT YOU?” The pony then raised a hoof, preparing to smash the windshield to free him, but the Major began to shake his head ‘no’ and wave his hands in the air in protest. She paused for a moment then slowly lowered her hoof. Then, without warning she took off flying even faster than before. Once she was out of sight Burns grabbed his communication controls. “Air command, this is Major Burns, come in,” he said breathlessly. “This is Air command we read you loud and clear.” “I spotted the target and, well, you won’t believe this but it looks like a flying pony.” “…Are you drunk?” XXX Fluttershy was too scared to call out for help. She crouched down in the forest she had landed in, shacking like a leaf. In the distance she could hear dozens of angry voices. She couldn’t make out what they were saying but they didn’t sound friendly. There was another sound in the distance mixed in with the voices; it was a harsh grinding sound that scared her worse than the voices. She had never heard anything like it before, not even in the Everfree forest, she just hoped it wasn’t a vicious dragon. Then, without warning, animals raced in her direction. Squirrels jumped from tree to tree, birds flew with all their might. Deer, raccoons, skunks, mice, bunnies, and many other land animals ran past her. Fluttershy wondered what terrifying thing could cause so much fear when it suddenly crashed through the forest. It was some kind of yellow creature; it couldn’t have been from Equestria for she had never seen a creature that had tracks for feet. It also had arms that were attached to each other to form a scoop. As it moved it tore down all the trees in its path. Fluttershy was horrified by this thing; she quickly took to the sky, preparing to fly off, when she heard a soft chirp. Pausing in mid flight, she turned her head and saw a bird’s nest containing three baby birds. They were crying out for their mother to save them. The yellow creature was about to run down their tree. Enraged by this horrible act of cruelty, Fluttershy flew towards the creature ready to give it a piece of her mind. However, as she approached, the noise that had been coming from the yellow beast stopped and an even stranger two legged creature emerge from it. Fluttershy then realized that the yellow beast had been a like a metal wagon and that this other creature had been controlling it. “Hey you monster,” she yelled, giving this thing her best stair ever. “I don’t know what you are or why you’re destroying this beautiful forest, but you will never hurt these baby birds while I’m around, understand?” She was up in the creature’s face, which caused it to panic. Screaming he ran off leaving Fluttershy to wonder if she was really that scary. She shrugged and swooped down to the ground to dig up some worms for the babies she had rescued. “Here you go little ones,” she said sweetly as she fed them. “I’m sure your mother will be back to take care of you soon.” Fluttershy landed back on earth, happy to have saved the innocent chicks. However, she realized too late that she had been surrounded by a large group of creatures who were similar to the one she scared off, except these had brighter clothing and were dirtier. Before she could make her escape, they all fell to their knees and bowed to her. XXX “Wow, Equestria sounds like a wonderful place,” exclaimed Andrew. For the last couple of hours, Twilight had been telling him all about her home, and when she explains something she goes into great detail. “It must be wonderful to be able to use magic freely.” “Can’t you?” asked Twilight, she assumed he could use magic after he zipped her mouth shut, but he shook his head. “Once a long time ago we could,” he explained. “You see, not all humans can use magic. Back then the few that could use magic lived on an island called Avalon, while non magic humans were still hunting and gathering; we wizards and witches, or Casters as we like to call ourselves, were united as an advanced people under the great King Oberon. He was the very first third class spellcaster.” “Third class?” interrupted Twilight. “Yes, Casters are separated into three levels of skill. First class is the most basic of spells and requires the use of spoken words in order to use them. I am a second class user; all I need to cast magic is a simple gesture. But Oberon figured out how to cast magic without using either of these methods. With a single thought and focus he caused the earth to shake beneath his enemies, cause the seasons to change, or feed his entire country. In all of history, only one other Caster has been able to achieve third class and that was Merlin, but I plan on being the third to reach that level. “Now, King Oberon created our laws, making three spell forbidden. The first is never to turn lead into gold.” “But why not?” asked Twilight confused. “Wouldn’t using something like that help civilization?” “No, it wouldn’t,” insisted Andrew, “Proof of this came several centuries ago with a good king who wanted to help his people. His advisors said there was nothing he could do unless he came across a gold mine. Then, one day a Caster came before the king, offering to create a magical spring that would turn lead into gold. The king agreed and over night the kingdom became the richest in the land. But soon the spring created even more problems. Once every one was rich, prices for goods and services sky rocketed. The nearby kingdoms wanted their riches for their own and soon a war was raged. Sadly, the Kings army’s weapons had been turned to gold and were useless in the war. You see, gold is very brittle yet very heavy. In the end the kingdom was destroyed and thousands of lives were lost.” “Okay, so it didn’t work out the first time,” replied Twilight, “But that was because it was used carelessly and to the extreme.” “Humans are naturally greedy,” Andrew explained. “Unlimited gold is far too tempting, not to mention that if there was an over abundance of gold, it would become as valuable as a box of common rocks. Lisa is guilty of using similar magic to make her credit card debits disappear. The problem was that the money came out of nowhere making it seem like counterfeit money. The magic council had to clean up her mess and as punishment they turned her into a cat.” Said cat shot a glare at the two before pissing on the carpet. “The second law passed was to never take away free will,” Andrew continued. “I can understand that law,” Twilight interrupted, “You could force somepony to do your bidding and never have to take responsibility for your actions.” “There’s a bit more to it than that, but basically yes,” replied Andrew. “Take my brother for example; he used love potions and spells on whoever he wanted. Until he used a love spell on his math teacher, slept with her, then blackmailed her into giving him a good grade. Now, the difference between a mind control spell and a love spell is that you can try to resist a mind control spell. On the other hand, a love spell creates a deep longing that can’t be ignored and must be fulfilled. Once the spell breaks the victim has no idea why they did what they wouldn’t normally do. In the end, the teacher was overcome with grief at the knowledge she had cheated on her fiancé and she took her life. And like my sister, my brother was punished for his cruelty.” Twilight glared at the lizard, who was happily munching away at his food. It filled her with disgust that someone would manipulate another for their own twisted desires and not feel a shred of remorse. Just by looking at the offending creature, she could tell he didn’t care that he was responsible for ruining several people’s lives. “Let me guess,” Twilight said, still glaring at the iguana, “The last law forbids anyone to kill.” But to her surprise, Andrew shook his head. “There are times when we have to protect ourselves so we are not denied that right,” he said. “No, the last law is to never bring the dead back to life. It is the worst forbidden spell due to the horrifying price you must pay. In order to bring someone back to life, the Caster must sacrifice a relative of the deceased. Even if the caster is sick enough to do that and the spell manages to work, the dead will become a zombie like creature devoid of any emotion or thought, a shell of their former self. To make matters worse, neither the Caster nor the one brought back will be allowed to enter the afterlife. Instead, the two will be doomed to wander the earth until their driven mad until they finally fade into nothing. They simply cease to exist! There is no punishment for using this spell, you are damned the moment you cast it.” A shiver crawled up Twilights spine, the thought of someone even considering casting such a spell made her sick to her stomach. “What happened to Oberon and Avalon?” she asked, trying to get the horrible images out of her head. “He died at the age of thirty-two, an old age back then,” replied Andrew, glad of the change in topic. “After his passing, Avalon was destroyed in a civil war 300 years later. After words, the surviving Casters scattered throughout the world. Some went into hiding, but most got jobs as medicine men, shamen, wizards, and other such occupations that created the stories that were told to day. Some even became inventers like the famous painter Leonardo Da Vinci. Unfortunately, he had to be dealt with when he tried to turn lead into gold. “Anyway, as time went on, more and more people began to hunt for us. They were jealous and scared of us because we were different from them. The Salem witch trials were the last straw, after so many innocents died; we went into hiding and vowed we would never reveal our secrets to the outside world again.” Andrew let out a sigh, weary from his long tale. “But enough about history, we have to figure out how you got here if we’re ever going to get you back home.” “I wish I knew what went wrong,” said Twilight, “My friends and I were walking through the portal spell I created. When I was studying the spell it said nothing about getting pulled into another dimension.” “My spell didn’t say anything about that either,” replied Andrew. “The summoning spell should have only pulled the intended target from subspace.” Twilight cocked her head to the side. “You mean the area in between the worlds where space and time is distorted allowing faster than light travel to be possible, which is how teleporting, summoning, and portal spells work.” Andrew was blown away by her vas knowledge of things he thought only his people knew, he almost didn’t hear her continue, almost. “They use this subspace as a short cut to get to where they need to go. But then why doesn’t events like this happen more often,” She concluded. Andrew mentally shook his head to regain focus, “According to the books, this shouldn’t have happened,” he replied. “When you enter subspace there is a force, similar to gravity that keeps us close to our own world. At the time I cast my spell it was enhanced by my anger, but the only thing it should have pulled to me was that stupid pineapple.” A theory suddenly struck Andrew. “Unless the pineapple was magically connected to something else.” “My levitation spell!” exclaimed Twilight. “After the pineapple landed on Pinkie, I used my magic to pick it up. That would mean that this whole mess is my fault!” She was near tears at just the thought of letting down her friends, especially the Princess. She thought I could use advanced magic, she scolded herself, she trusted me and now look where I am. All alone in a strange world, my friends probably rescued by Spike by now but how am I suppose to get home. She let her pent up fears spill out into streams of tears. Andrew was taken aback by the tears, he hated to see women cry, even different species of women. He knelt down and stroked her mane. “Hey, it’s not your fault. Our spells reacted to each other, there was no way of knowing this would happen.” He said, his gentle voice calming her. She sniffed and let out a long sigh. “I wish I could send you back Twilight, but I’m not sure if I can. I don’t have the proper knowledge and I’m not sure if I can get you there safely,” Andrew didn’t bother to mention his fear of messing up. He didn’t want to hurt the lavender pony. But before she could start crying again he added, “But I know someone who can. My godmother and mentor is on the Council of Seven. If anyone on this earth can help you get back home it’s her.” “Really?” asked Twilight as hope surged through her. Andrew nodded. “Yeah,” he replied with a reassuring smile. He then looked over at the clock and saw how late it was. “I’ll send her a letter tonight before I go to bed. And speaking of bed, we’d better get some sleep. You can take my bed while I crash on the couch.” “I-I can’t do that,” stammered Twilight. “It’s your bed.” “It’s fine,” said Andrew as he waved her off. “Besides, what kind of a man would I be if I made a girl sleep on some old couch.” Twilight blushed a bit at that statement and was then shown to his room. The room was a bit small and crowded. On one side there was a bed and a doorway that led to the bathroom. On the other was a large bookcase full of books and music sheets. On the ceiling were several posters that read ‘World of Warcraft’, ‘Red vs. Blue’, ‘Looking for Group’, ‘Ironman’, and ‘Starcraft II’. Twilight also noticed that next to the bed was a counter with a lamp, alarm clock, and a single book. Twilight closed the door before she jumped onto the bed and tried her best to fall asleep. Sadly, no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t do it. There was simply too much going on and she was still worried about her friends. Outside, she could hear Andrew walking around and guessed he was getting ready to go to sleep as well. A moment later she heard Lisa screaming that he was on her couch and he had to get off. With a sigh, Twilight turned on the desk lamp and used her magic to pick up the book. Maybe reading something will help me calm down, she thought. The book was entitled ‘War of the Ancients Archive’. The cover showed three human like creatures with purplish colored skin and long, pointy ears. Twilight shrugged, not knowing what to make of the book. She did, however, open it up and began to read. XXX Twilight opened her eyes as the light of the sun hit her face. She opened her eyes and began to panic that she wasn’t in her room. But when she looked down at the book in front of her she began to remember the events of yesterday and how she had come to stay with Andrew. She also remembered his promise of trying to find her a way home. Lastly, she remembered that she had fallen asleep on his bed while reading the book that was still in front of her. The book was really three books in one. The first was called, ‘The Well of Eternity’. In it a human, dragon, and a creature called an Orc were brought to a different world. Well, actually they were sent back ten thousand years in time, but they might as well be in a different world. The characters were amazing and the plot was gripping. She could easily identify with Rhonin, a human mage who wanted to get back home to his family. Krasus seemed very wise and she was amazed by his shape changing abilities. Then there was Brox, the Orc warrior. Twilight felt sorry for the old warrior who, despite his appearance, was far more noble than any other character in the story and had such a sad past. In a way, Andrew reminded her of one of the characters in the book: Malfurion. They were both so kind and patient. They also seemed to share the same desire to help others. Then there was the fact that they both had arrogant and selfish blood relatives. Yawning, Twilight got off the bed and opened the bedroom door. Looking out she could see that Andrew was still sleeping on the couch. Around him was a bubble similar to the one she had once put up around her library to keep the Crusader’s away. Raising an eyebrow, she looked around to find the reason for this protection. It didn’t take long to see Lisa who looked like she was still trying to claw her way in. “Get off my couch,” she hissed as she swiped at the force field. However, it was like trying to cut through a brick wall with her tiny claws. Suddenly, Twilight had an idea. She owed Andrew a lot. Not only was he letting her stay here for free but was also going to help her get home. The least she could do was make him breakfast. Smiling, she walked into the kitchen area to look for something to make him. Perhaps I should make pancakes, she thought. She was able to find a pan as well as a mixing bowl, but she lacked the pancake mix. After looking for a while, she began to wonder if he even had any. “Maybe its in there,” Twilight said to herself as she looked at the door that seemed to be guarded by the two suits of armor. As she walked towards the door she suddenly felt like she was being watched. However, when she turned around she saw that Andrew was still asleep, Lisa was still trying to attack him, and Will was eating something in his bowl with his back facing her. Shrugging, Twilight used her magic to turn the door knob. Then, without warning, she felt something hit her in the back of the head before everything went black.