//------------------------------// // Masks // Story: Shaddows and Masks // by Sketch Scribbles //------------------------------// Duskfall sat in the former guest room reading. Her room now. Being in here was quite a sight better than being outside. Rainy days were like that, and as annoying as they were to some, being a farming town there was no doubt a good half the local ponies were happy to see this weather. The down side of being stuck inside with her twin though, was that sad look Twilight kept getting. She got the feeling there was something she was hiding. Was it something about her? or something about Twilight? When she's first met her original in Canterlot they had both been a mess for different reasons. While Duskfall had just spent a night on the run, Twilight looked like she was recovering from a prolonged period of starvation. She had said the misfired teleport spell had landed her underground, and without a good reference point for her location she couldn't try again, without risking ending up embedded in a rock. For her part Dusk could only remember the teleport spell doing nothing at all while being much more draining. Though something about that memory felt odd too... As much as she didn't want to believe her twin would hide things from her, Dusk wondered if there was more to it than that. Putting the book aside, Dusk lifted a small red and blue metal cart off the shelf and stared fiddling with it to distract herself. It was an old first generation Cloptimus prime figure that Shining Armor had given her when she was little, and spinning the pieces about to turn the cart into a 'robotic' stallion was oddly therapeutic. Shining Armor... that was somepony she didn't want to think about. Dusk had no idea why shining had been avoiding her. She was the same as twilight in every way, yet he would only talk to her original, and only if Dusk was out of earshot. what did I do? Her momentary self doubt broke before a burst of optimism though. Copy or not, he would get used to her. It would just take time. The ground was still kind of soggy from the day before, but dusk was out and about anyway. The local inhabitants of Ponyville were still getting used to the idea of not just Dusk's presence, but her twin's recent joining of the royal family. Dusk had opted to stay away from such public matters as two ponies within the same century, namely Twilight and Cadance, achieving ascension was already rare enough, and causing political snarls thanks to a certain jealous prince. Who knew what headaches the rest of Equestria knowing about her would spawn. Best that she remain in her twin's shadow for now. As Dusk trotted through the market, she couldn't help but notice that the nagging 'hungry' feeling she had become aware of during her escape from Ponyville was in the back of her mind again, just as it had been every day since. It seemed to go away when she was around certain ponies, but as soon as they were out of sight it was back. Eating didn't seem to have any effect on it. As she went about her routine, unconsciously, Dusk had started cataloging which ponies triggered the reaction and which did not. "Howdy Dusk, How's th' library been treatin' ya lately?" A familiar voice greeted her as she approached the apple cart at the far side of the marketplace. The farm pony putting on a friendly smile and setting out a bag with her usual order. Twilight's usual order. Dusk really had to stop mixing that up. At least the hungry feeling went away around Applejack. "Hello Applejack. My studies have been going great, though it's a shame Twilight and I can't get more reading done this way." She explained, drawing an amused chuckle from her friend. She didn't quite see what was funny, having two sets of eyes and not being able to read twice as many books really was disappointing. Sometimes she just didn't understand AJ. Spotting the look of confusion and shaking her head, AJ continued, "Don't worry none Dusk. Ya' copy Twi so close that sometimes ah forget y'aint her." She answered the questioning stare, without answering... anything, actually. The farm pony hoofed over a small basket of apples, collecting Dusk's bits in return. They would have spoken further, but another customer arrived at that point and she had to go. Picking up the basket with her magic, Dusk moved on to the next item in her checklist. Buy more scrolls for checklists... Pick up carrots... pick up apples... buy more scrolls for checklists... order more quills and ink to help make more checklists... continue reading current checklist to finish errands... buy Spike some gems for good behavior... pick up cupcake order from Sugar Cube Corner... check cupcakes to make sure the frosting and sprinkles evenly coat them... if not evenly coated help make the necessary corrections... double check checklist to make sure nothing is forgotten... triple check the checklist to make sure nothing was missed when the checklist was double checked... One by one Dusk went to all the shops she needed to visit, a part of her mind unconsciously making a mental list of the ponies she encountered and how her odd hunger reacted or didn't react to them. After triple checking her checklist, again for good measure, she crossed the last item off and with a smile began trotting back to the library. Quickly putting the various items she had acquired away in their respective spots, and giving a freshly cut emerald to a rather appreciative dragon. Dusk took a break while she decided what to work on next. She was growing more and more curious about the sensation she felt around different ponies, it was getting harder to shake the feeling of familiarity about it. With no other projects on the go at the moment she decided to search the library for texts on the subject. Surely the medical refrence section had to have something on neuroscience that would be pertinent. The medical books weren't all that commonly used, as compare to the materials the doctors at Ponyville General owned the were old and incomplete, and her own curative magic being easily the weakest in her repertoire she usually had no use for such texts. Still, the mare could never resist a good book, and despite not finding much about the strange sensation, still found herself reading through one of the books just for fun. She paused before turning the page, momentarily considering the idea of using the spell on herself, before ultimately rejecting it. True, she still had gaps thanks to her flying accident, and that spell could force her missing memories to the surface, but it could also make the damage that buried them worse. Besides, Twilight had tried to fill in the blanks for her, having no such head injury to hinder her memory. The risks outweighed the benefits for the moment. Flipping a little further through the book, Dusk was momentarily distracted by the oddest feeling, she knew some pony was nearby, some pony in a good mood. It was an odd sensation, vaguely similar to a few nagging feelings she'd gotten lately, but never this clear. Stepping out of her room, dusk trotted downstairs in time to see her twin putting away her saddlebags. Was that what I sensed? The books on teleport accidents didn't say anything about mental connections... Trotting over, Twilight grinned, as happy as she had been in a long time. "Guess what came today?" she said cheerfully, not giving her time to answer before holding up two large envelopes both bearing the seal of the Canterlot academy, and Twilight's name. She didn't need to open them for dusk to know what they were. Between the years of university and field studies in Thaumatergy and Psychology they could only be one thing. Though that didn't stop Twilight from taking the certificates out and framing them anyway. Proud as Dusk was, the thought of studying psychology brought her mind back to what had led her downstairs to begin with. of course, that's exactly the solution to this. Field research. After all, what else were Monday nights good for? Tuesdays were usually boring... usually. Apparently not this one. Is she serious? No wonder Pinkie always notices me... Twilight thought to herself as, for the ninth time that day, she she was distracted from her reading by the sight of an old pith helmet sticking out of the top of a bush. And not just any helmet, no, she certainly recognized her limited edition replica Daring Do helmet. The one she had gotten along with her signed copy of Daring Do: Legend of The Black City. The one she often wore when she was doing 'field research'. "Dusk I can see you back there." She called out, getting in return a the sound of leaves shuffling. "Rats!"The other mare grumbled climbing out of the bush and trotting off, the other inhabitants of the park glancing over before immediately returning to what they were doing dismissively. With ponies like Pinkie living in the town, foalish behavior from grown mares was hardly strange to them anymore. It was just another day. Dusk decided that her chance to observe Twilight was over, ruined by her twin seeing her rather large and plainly visible hat... that also belonged to the mare. Then a strange sensation hit her. She looked around at the various ponies in the park and realized that not only could she see them, but she could feel them, their feelings radiated off of them in the same way Twilight's had, and now that she wasn't focusing so hard on Twilight, the sensation was all around her. Neither twilight or Dusk had thought of themselves as hypochondriacs before, but right now Dusks mind was swimming in ideas of what could be wrong with her as she bolted from the park, very few of them rational. She was terrified as she ran, heading for somewhere she could be alone, or she would have, had she not slammed straight into Rainbow Dash. After the initial crash, and their apologies, Rainbow could clearly see how distressed the mare was. "I know I'm all about speed, but I gotta know; where you're going in such a hurry? Something bothering you? Maybe another pony giving you a hard time. No worries, I can get them off your case in no time." The cyan mare stated confidently, holding a hoof to her chest. Dusk shook her head. "No... Rainbow that's not necessary. Actually, I really don't think there's anything you can do to help." Raising an eyebrow and deciding the words were clearly a challenge, Rainbow just hovered closer. "Are you kidding? The best flier in all of Equestria can't help you? C'mon, at least give me chance." Dusk sighed, part of her hoping that maybe Rainbow was right, and that she could explain these sensations and feelings. It was a long shot, but maybe just maybe she could help... "It's strange... I don't know what it is, but it's as if I can sense a pony by their feelings. I don't need to see a pony to know that they are there. I don't like it. It's not something a pony should be able to do, even pinkie makes more sense. Why can I do this, and why now?" Rainbow's expression changed in a flash. Gone was the playful smirk now replaced by a frown. Dusk can feel it, she's becoming what she use to be. The thought terrified Rainbow, especially since she had dealt with many of Dusk's kind and despite Twilight's request to give dusk a chance, she couldn't help but feel at least feel a bit of disgust towards the bugs. She gave her a nearly hostile look before turning away. "I guess you were right, can't help you there. Gotta dash!" she took to the air quickly, her mind conflicted. Dusk was their friend, and yet she was turning back into the monster she really was. Dusk just watched her, confused, before trotting back to the library, now with even more questions. Putting away the helmet and trotting back to her room, dusk scowled. After going to that much trouble to get an answer, why had Rainbow bolted? She knew something, she knew why this was happening, and whatever it was, terrified her. More than that, the way Rainbow looked at her, the way the hunger returned as her friend's expression changed, the way she had felt the concern in her friend change into veiled hostility... Something about what she was terrified Rainbow. Something to do with the decidedly unponylike senses she was slowly gaining... or regaining? They did feel familiar, somehow, a piece of her past hidden by her jumbled memory... "What are my friends keeping from me, what am I?" Dusk asked herself aloud, nervous as she readied the memory restoration spell. Releasing it felt like lighting a fire in her mind, heat and pain seared through her, bringing with them a new understanding and clarity. Dusk gasped as foreign thoughts flooded her mind, the mental image of her failed teleport incident fading as if it was never real. Replacing it were millions of memories; a lifetime of lies and treachery guided by the instincts of a deceptive predator hunting it's next meal. The hunger and her ability to "smell" the emotions of those around her made sense now, They were an inherent part of how she hunted. Once the pain let up and she got to her hooves, she looked down at herself, at the body she was copying, and immediately tried to shift. Nothing, she was still purple, the ability that should have come to her as simply as flexing a muscle, didn't seem to work at all. That realization almost made her mind lock up. What good was a changeling that couldn't change? What did they do to me?! She needed answers, but in her mind there was only one pony who could provide them, and she couldn't confront Twilight yet. She had a pretty good idea of how Twilight thought, and meticulous planner was a bit of an understatement. More like obsessive planner, so she would need an edge. She would need to be one step ahead. Now wasn't the time. Another thought struck her, If this form was stuck, she couldn't feed. The trail of drained husks would always lead back to her... Worse yet, AJ's odd comment and rainbow's reaction made sense now. They knew, and now that she had tipped rainbow off, eventually every pony would know if they didn't already. She needed to regain her metamorphic abilities somehow, and fast, there was no way she would get close to Rainbow without them. Straining herself trying to shift, still nothing changed... Think, Ebony, You've had difficulty shifting before... but that was a size difference, Twilight isn't that much larger than I am... Just tap into your inner energy reserves, and... Realize they aren't there, this body isn't a disguise... Rainbow had made her way quickly to sweet apple acres, as soon as she knew Dusk was alone in the library. If she was still at least a little like Twilight, she would be in there a while, and Dash needed all the time she could get to warn and gather the girls. Applejack would need to be first, not only was she the fastest on hooves out of the six of them, (at least when wings weren't allowed) AJ would have the easiest time convincing the others. What Rainbow didn't count on was how AJ being both trusting and stubborn could work against her, and waste hours. "Look sugarcube, ah get yer worried. But Ya' said it yerself: She don't know what this is. Twi'll probably convince her it's a side effect of their magic 'speriments or somthin." The farm pony explained calmly. As much as she hated the idea of her friend covering up a lie with another lie, it was a damn sight better than a paranoid pegasus causing a riot. "Augh! Twilight takes too long with this stuff! The first time we had to keep Dusk asleep for two days while she researched 'reasonably plausible thauma-somthing anomalies'. By the time she comes up with an excuse it'll be too late!" Rainbow complained loudly, launching herself about head level off the ground and flailing her hooves a bit for emphasis. "we need to do something about this now!" "Rainbow, will y'all calm down? We'll get this sorted but there's no point in galopin' off half shod." You could hear the annoyance in Applejack's voice as she spoke, apparently Rainbow was going to jump into this head first. "Look, how bout this, we gather the girls, tell em what you saw, and decide it together? but don't you go startin' a stampede or somthin' along the way!" "Gah, fine." rainbow grumbled, knowing she wasn't going to convince the farmpony, but at least partly satisfied with what she'd gotten. "you get Twi and Fluttershy, I'll get Pinkie and Rarity. Meed back here in an hour?" With a nod from her friend, Rainbow shot off through the evening air, not noticing the silent form that had been watching them for the final monents of their conversation. Banging on the door, rainbow was about to shout for Pinkie when a magenta goof shot out of the momentarily open door, grabbed her and pulled her inside. "Shush! You're gonna wake the twins." she hissed, scowling at Rainbow Dash. "Sorry Pinkie. But we have a problem. Dusk knows. Applejack should be on her way back from Fluttershy's by now. We should go get Rarity." Rainbow stated, not waiting for an answer before she started for the door. "Nopers. She never got there, and you're staying right here Dashie." The pink party pony's stated, unusually cold and calm. The words made Rainbow pause, a chill running down her spine. She hesitated a moment before turning to look back at the pony behind her. Her glance back was just in time to see the frying pan, headed for her face wrapped in lavender magic. As she drifted from consciousness she got a fleeting glance of "Pinkie" melting away in green flame to show a familiar alicorn. "Why does copying changeling powers with pony magic have to hurt so much?" Ebony groaned, back in the form of Duskfall. Grabbing Rainbow in her magic, she teleported away to put her with Applejack. She really needed a better hiding place, Twilight had been to this one before, but there wasn't time. While stopping them was a necessity, unless she could re-learn mental domination before one or both of them being missing was noticed, and make it last longer than the mere seconds she was getting out of her other powers, she was committed now. It was no longer a matter of if she would be discovered, but when. she could buy time by mimicking them, but that was a stopgap at best. Hurrying back to the library Ebony began planning her next move. She would have to be careful, very careful. She couldn't afford Twilight catching on before she was ready. We live in the same place, so i have to expect her to spot me at least once. Think, think, THINK! What could you do that wouldn't draw any attention until it was finished? Ugh, this would be so much easier if I had her under my control! Frustrated, she kicked against a standing shelf. Knocking loose a few of the books,one in particular falling open to a useful page. "Hmmm? what's this?" The rune trap had triggered exactly as planned, Twilight had gotten her barrier up in time, but beyond that she couldn't move or cast. Frozen in place with her voice as her only tool. Staring over at her twin, she just asked, "why?" "You have to ask, after what you did to me, 'sister'?" The other alicorn asked with an almost dangerously calm tone, slowly trotting towards her frozen captive. Staring into her, as if looking to find the answers on her frozen face. "For that matter, just what did you do to turn me into... this anyway? and why, revenge? for what I did to you, for some misguided idea of 'justice' over that Canterlot mess or something else?" "What I... Dusk I tried to save you." She pleaded, understanding too late why dusk had been so irritable these last few days. She knew. part of her would have wanted to ask how but that was no longer important. "Save me?!" Ebony demanded, momentarily angered, Shedding Twilight's appearance replacing it with black chitin and cold multifaceted blue eyes. Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had been certain dusk was no longer a changeling, this shouldn't be possible. Calm down Ebony. Your temper is getting the better of you, you need answers not anger. Calming slightly, Ebony began again, "THIS, Twilight, this is 'me'. Not that shell you made. But thanks to you I can't hold this form. I can't feed properly because every pony knows what I am. I can't be who I am as long as I'm stuck like this, and the only form I can hold for more than a few minutes... is... IS YOURS!" Her temper returning with those final words, the changeling screeched in rage rearing up and slamming both hooves through Twilight's barrier, wisps of green light around them shattering the incandescent purple field and striking home, knocking Twilight backward through the door into the basement. It's wooden panels already shattered from the magical backlash of Ebony's earlier trap. Charging after her and gliding down, she raised a hoof to strike again when Twilight spoke up. "I tried to help you... You have to believe me..." Twilight whimpered trying to get up from underneath the overturned equipment. Her wing bent at an unnatural angle as she tried to pull herself free, contorting her face into a grimace, though her mobility had at least been partly restored at the cost of her now wounded wing and battered body. "Help me?! You took away everything I am!" The changeling slammed a hoof down onto Twilight's head, smacking her horn against the stone foundation and cracking it. "Please, Dusk..." she whimpered in pained sobs. "Stop calling me that, I don't want to be Dusk. I'm NOT Dusk. I won't be just a shadow of what I was." The words were uttered with a venomous hiss, as the changeling began to explain, keeping a blackened chitinous hoof pressed down hard against the cracked horn of the wounded alicorn. The pain that brought keeping her opponent prone. As she continued she leaned in toard the pony, sneering. "But if you won't let me be a changeling again, I'll have to settle for the next best thing. Not an echo, but the voice that made it. The fact is, Twilight, I can't be me, until I get rid of you." She spat the words as she continued. A blade as long as Twilight's foreleg materializing above her head, wrapped in a green aura. Twilight knew her life was being counted in seconds now. As much as the pain in her horn, and the weight of her opponent told her to stop, she forced her head up firing everything she had left into a single spell, all hope of restraint or control lost to the adrenaline that was temporarily allowing her to push past her head injury. The blast launching them both into opposite walls. As Twilight tried to stand, she heard her opponent speak. "You held back. Why..? You have... deadlier spells than that... I don't... understand..." she asked, strain audible in her voice as she stared forward with a confused expression, one of her hooves trying hold closed the hole in her upper chest where the changeling's own weapon had buried itself down to the handle in chitin, the other trying to get it free without doing more damage, as her horn flickered. It had been thrown there there purely by luck when Twilight had repelled her, and from the shape of the gouge it had gone in sideways, cutting into one lung and stopping where hear heart should be. Whitish green liquid was quickly leaking out despite her efforts, the sparks of magic couldn't seal the wound fast enough. Ebony coughed up a small amount of the liquid before continuing, a watery gurgle to her voice now, "I'm... Not... Out... Yet..." "I didn't want it to end this way." Twilight managed to say, before the changeling's horn flashed a different, far more taxing spell and it collapsed. The strain from the spell pushing her punctured insides beyond their limits. The alicorn knowing full well that the end would come in seconds for the creature before her, just shook her head. She knew there was not enough time for it to try and cast the spell again. Even if the she were sure her opponent would not immediately try to kill her, her damaged horn was already throbbing and wouldn't sustain another spell, even something as simple as healing. Twilight hadn't wanted things to go this far, the repulsion spell had been meant to incapacitate, not kill. - - - - - Two weeks had passed since the fight. Most of that time spent searching for Applejack and Rainbow, who thankfully had both been found alive and well, if a bit bruised and suffering from the mild paranoia typical of a changeling victim. As the funeral began the purple alicorn sat inside the temple, horn and wing bandaged but healing. She had on an expression of failure and regret. She had been surprised when Rarity had suggested holding a funeral for Dusk, even more so when so many arrived. Apparently, in the mere days that had passed, Dusk had had more of an impact than she realized. A funeral for a changeling... Goodbye. I wish things had gone differently, If I could go back, well, I'd probably stop us from meeting the first time. It was a screwed up time for both of us. You didn't ask for this, but in the end we both knew there could only be one of us. For what it's worth, I'm going to miss you. huh... It's funny. You almost ruined my life, nearly killed me twice, and I can still feel that... So yes, I'm going to miss you, Twilight Sparkle. I know using a mind-switch in that condition was hardly fair or sporting, but I've never been one to fight fair. Like I said; I can't be me until I get rid of you, because your life is the only "me" I have left... Only... Why do you have to keep such detailed journal entries? I would have been happier thinking you were the one that made me a pony, or the delusion that it could be undone, rather than having unknowingly made that change to myself permanently... Knowing now, that it was just the consequences of my own actions... you can't avenge what never happened. I... I killed the one pony who cared about me, not just the form I was copying... and I did it for nothing... I... I don't... I can't... I'm a fool.