Masquerade kept smiling at me. It looked at me from within my own body and its fangs glistened in the light from the lantern. Remembering my plan, I turned to the light source and picked it up in my mouth. It just stared at me, waiting for me to strike first. As I stared back at the creature hiding under my own skin, I wondered if vengeance was really worth it. I stepped to the side and placed the lantern on the nightstand. I turned around to see if Masquerade was willing to fight an unarmed pony.
The changeling was unfazed. “I knew you wouldn’t try to kill me again.” The creature chuckled under its breath. “Your exaggerated value of life is why we are here in the first place!”
What’s that supposed to mean?
The creature took a step forward. “And don’t think you’re safe within your own mind! I was a master of telepathic magic.”
“But your horn is too short for that kind of spell!” I blurted out. The memories were coming back faster than I had thought.
“You and your ‘good intentions’ are to blame for that,” it scoffed. “Don’t think that I had also forgotten our little showdown a week ago.”
“That doesn’t explain--”
“YOU NEVER LET ME EXPLAIN!” Masquerade shouted. The volume forced me to step back and wait for my ears to stop ringing. “All you did was question... question... question...”
“You murdered that nurse!” I yelled back; my voice wasn’t nearly as loud as the copy’s was.
“I was just trying to knock her unconscious,” the creature tried to explain. “I couldn’t let your forgetful mouth doom us both!”
“You were only trying to save yourself!” I accused it.
“Says the pony who sheltered me, fed me, and saw me as a friend.” A grim smile grew on the monster’s face, as though it had a sudden realization. “No wonder you hate me so much... you care about me enough to spare me the horrible fate of being your friend!”
“The way you say these things... I thought you said we had only just met?” I asked it. If this creature had been lying to me this entire time, I would be forced to contact the authorities.
“You are nothing but memories... I was happy to see you forget. You became something new. Something better!”
“But you couldn’t leave me alone and let me feel happy too?!”
“After what you had done?! I’m just getting my bittersweet taste of revenge!”
“What did I do to you?!” I screamed at the monster. My head throbbed in pain, and it could only get worse, but I had to know the truth.
“I’m surprised that you haven’t remembered yet. What did that door do to your little head?” I couldn’t hide my own confusion, so it explained further. “The artifact we came for... Sombra’s Door!”
“Just the door? What’s behind it?” I asked. My chest trembled as the memories and the fear leaked back into my mind. Now I remembered the door. A door that kept within it an abundance of fear and hate from King Sombra himself. This monster tried to kill me with it... but that only cursed me further since I’m a crystal pony. My confidence began to drain while this truth sank in.
“You know this isn’t about the door anymore...” the changeling said, pacing the room under crystal skin. “This goes beyond the door, beyond Sombra, beyond the nurse, beyond the crystal ponies, and beyond you!” Our eyes turned together to the lone light in the room. “You remember the formula for lantern fuel now, don’t you?”
My brain shook like an earthquake. The horrors I saw in my mind... the door had driven me to insanity. For better or worse, I could not recall the formula for lantern fuel.
“What is it?” I dared to ask the monster.
“A highly acidic substance.” A grin twisted the changeling’s face. “And you’re going to drink it.”
“And why would I do that?” If it were trying to kill me again, it could at least be subtle about it.
“You think nobody’s noticed our little nurse’s body laying in a puddle of her own blood by now? Sooner or later, the guards will start looking for clues. They’ll find out who she was last with and come knocking on the door with a warrant.” It chuckled to itself under its breath. “There are special ashes from a rather rare, fiery, feathered creature in that lantern; if you drink it, new life will sprout. If you don’t, you die for nothing. Your choice...”
“I’m guessing it hurts more than the guards’ treatment, too.”
The copy nodded its head. I turned and looked at the lantern. Green magic pulled the crystal out of the stand and unscrewed the top of it. It began to tip toward my mouth. Green acid began to drip out of it. I opened my mouth, and raised my hooves to the light.
“NO!” I screamed, fighting the monster’s magic that held the lantern in place.
I glanced behind me for a second, only to see the monster’s horn piercing through its disguise and shining brightly, holding the lantern up. I turned back towards it and rammed my hoof into his horn. It splintered into several shards... so did its face, and the rest of his body. It was a mirror.
It was always a mirror.
The lantern fell to the ground behind me. Its contents slowly spilled out onto the rug.
The headache was unbearable.