//------------------------------// // A Disguise // Story: Soren The Alicorn Part 2: The Effects Of War // by KingNyroc15 //------------------------------// Soren, with Cain halfway in control, flew to Ponyville in the middle of the night. Although Soren was the one flying, Cain was the one directing them. He made them land in front of a clothing store. When Soren tried to open the door, he wasn't surprised to find it locked. "Well, only one other way in." "Why do I do these things?" Soren teleported inside. The small store had all kinds of clothing that ranged from coats to shirts to dresses to socks. Cain forced them to take a look around for a very particular piece of clothing that he wanted. It only took him a minute to find what he was looking for. Running over to the racks, Cain levitated a grey, hooded cloak over to them. There was nothing special or outstanding about it; it was just a plain, grey cloak. "Why do you need this?" "Well we can't be recognized now can we? Let's see here..." With a little magic, Cain enchanted the hooded cloak. They put the cloak on and walked over to the nearest full body mirror. As they stood in front of the mirror, Cain magicked the hood onto their head. The first thing Soren noticed was that they couldn't see their face. From the outside, it was pitch black under the hood, but for inside, they could see perfectly. "Do you like it?" Soren noticed that when Cain spoke, his left eye appeared and shined with a bright yellow. "I guess. I still don't know why we need a disguise." Soren's right eye appeared and shined with a bright grey as he spoke. "We don't want that reputation of yours to be ruined, do we? Now that we have this, we can begin my plan. Tomorrow morning, we are going to see exactly how much fire magic you learned." Knowing that he still had no choice on the matter, Soren decided to follow Cain's lead. The two teleported out of the clothing store and left for the outskirts of Ponyville to find a place to rest. ----------------------- The Next Morning ----------------------- Cain decided to say "good afternoon" to everypony in Ponyville by starting a fire on the edge of the Everfree. He explained to Soren that it was to show them how strong they were, but Soren didn't believe him. As they watched the fire burn, Soren felt himself smiling, no doubt because of Cain. As the fire slowly began its journey towards Ponyville, the two-soul pony turned around and began walking into the Everfree Forest. Little did they know that a certain farmer managed to see them leave. "Why do we have to do this?" Soren asked Cain. They were walking along the edge of forest while inside the forest. "You could hurt a lot of ponies by doing things like this." "Oh hush. They'll put out the fire. I just need it to distract them." "While we what?" "Go to the other side of town, of course." "You better tell me this plan of yours or else I'll attempt to take back control of my body." "Please, we are both at a stalemate. I can't take control, and you can't regain it. I promise all of this will be worth it. Now come on." "And where do you think you're going?!" a familiar voice asked angrily. Soren and Cain looked towards the sky to see a cyan pegasus mare flying towards them. 'Rainbow.' 'I didn't think we would be spotted.' 'Talk to her.' 'And give her a chance to distract us? I don't think so. How about we just...' They quickly teleported away and appeared at the edge of Ponyville. Soren saw Fluttershy's cottage in the distance and knew exactly where they were. They weren't on the other side of town from where the fire was, but they were close enough to run the remaining distance. Soren and Cain began running through town as they began looking for whatever Cain needed. Within a few minutes of running, a high-pitch springing noise could be heard coming up from behind them. Looking over their shoulder, the two saw Pinkie Pie bouncing towards them with a smile. "Hiya, Mr. Hooded Pony, where ya going?" she cheerfully asked. Soren and Cain tried to ignore her as they continued running. Effortlessly, Pinkie Pie bounced ahead of them, and she began bouncing backwards so she could look at them. "Where are you off in such a hurry? My friend Applejack said that you started a fire. Is that true? Because if it is then that means I have to try to stop you, and if I have to stop you then I have to bring out my party cannon and I never leave home without my-" Pinkie Pie stopped her bounce in midair. She just hovered there as she looked at the spot where the hooded pony used to be. Finally landing on the ground, Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Well, I guess I need to play hide-and-seek with him first." Smiling, the pink party pony pulled out her party cannon out of thin air and began riding it through town in search for the cloaked colt. --------------- Soren and Cain were hiding on top of a random building they teleported to. They needed to catch their breath before continuing. Breathing fast, they laid on their back and closed their eyes. 'What are you looking for anyway? You know I can help right?' 'Yes because you're totally going to help an evil pony.' 'I can try to separate myself from you if you don't trust me.' 'We both know I'm not going anywhere, old friend.' 'We both know I'm more than capable of finding a way to get rid of you.' 'But why would you rid yourself of the only thing keeping you sane?' Soren was silent. Before he could mentally respond, Soren heard a confetti cannon go off and was soon blasted off of the roof. He landed with a thud in an alleyway between the building he was on and the building next to it. Rubbing his head, Soren looked up to see all six of his friends staring at him. Cain took control and began chuckling. "Looks like the gang is all here." "Who are you?!" Rainbow Dash yelled, ready to charge. "I'm hurt that such a question had to be asked. But surely, you can recognize me, Ms. Sparkle." Soren/Cain looked at Twilight Sparkle as her eyes widened. "You better just stay away from me," Soren said, taking back control. "You have no idea what we're capable of." Cain noticed that Rainbow Dash was about to charge. "Go ahead, Rainbow. Fight me. It won't do you any good." Ignoring the hooded pony, Rainbow Dash flew straight at him, only to miss and to be struck in the side by him. Rainbow flew a few feet down the alleyway before hitting the ground. She got up and just sat there, staring at the mysteriously strong stallion. "Well it looks like my job here is done. But one last thing: If any of you want to stop me, then the only thing that stands in your way is a close friend of yours." With that said, Cain teleported away. -------------- It was night by the time Cain decided to bring him and Soren to Canterlot. He said that Soren should go meet a certain somepony in the Royal Palace. They teleported most of the way to Canterlot and flew when they were close. Still wearing the cloak but without the hood up, Soren walked up the night guards blocking the door. Once Soren told them who he was, they immediately let him inside. He noticed it was very quiet inside the palace at night. Quietly winding through hallways, Soren made his way through the beautiful castle. Eventually, they found Princess Luna's room. Soren knocked on the door and was surprised when the double doors instantly opened with magic; he didn't even have to say who it was. The sapphire aura closed the doors once Soren stepped inside. He looked around and saw that Luna was standing on her bedroom balcony, looking at the nighttime Canterlot. "Hello, Luna," Soren greeted. She turned around, and Soren saw that she had a puzzled look on her face. "It's me...Soren. Sometimes you called me Nyroc. Did that spell short-circuit your brain?" "Nothing of the sort has happened. It simply took us a minute to remember thee," Luna replied while smiling. "Our sister has explained to us the events of the Battle of the Nyrs, which occurred a few days ago. It's an honor to meet the hero that saved our beautiful capital." Luna closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly. As she did this, Soren instantly became worried. "Umm, Luna?" "Yes?" "Do you know me? Personally know me?" Soren felt his heart drop as he saw Luna put a hoof to her chin in thought. "I'm afraid we don't," she answered, putting her hoof down. Even if Soren could respond, he wouldn't be able to, for Luna's bedroom doors opened once again. This time Princess Celestia walked inside. Soren looked at the sun princess with depression in his eyes. Celestia surveyed the scene and knew what had just happened to Soren. She hung her head to silently apologize to him. "Hello, sister," Luna said, breaking the silence. "We were just talking with-" A crack of the air and a bright light interrupted Luna's sentence. She looked back to where Soren used to be, only to find him gone now. "Why did he leave so suddenly?" "Luna...can you hand me that letter over there?" Celestia pointed to a nearby desk that held a clutter of paper. In this clutter was a midnight blue envelope, which stood out among the other paper. Princess Luna levitated the sealed envelope to her sister, who in turn grabbed it with her own golden aura. Casting a spell, Princess Celestia burned the letter and it disappeared. "You just sent the letter somewhere. May I ask where and to whom?" "It's best that you don't know. I'm sorry, Luna." Luna nodded in understanding. Luna was expecting Celestia in the first place so they could talk. She was surprised when Soren walked in instead. Now Soren was gone, her sister randomly sent a letter somewhere, and her sister also excused herself from Luna's room. Something just happened that threw her entire evening out of balance. ---------------- Soren teleported back to his secret cave to be alone. It seemed like this cave would always be used for moments when he is deeply sad. As he lay on the ground, Soren wiped away his current set of tears. Just as Soren was beginning to 'accept' Nyra's death, Luna had to be taken away from him as well. Soren felt more tears on their way, but stopped when a quick burning sound came from above. He looked up and saw a midnight blue envelope float down in front of him. Wiping his eyes yet again, Soren picked up the letter and opened it. It was a note from Luna to him. Dearest Soren, Your battle is tomorrow, and I do not think I can follow through with the plan the Doctor has given me. I write this letter in case the alternative happens and I lose my memories of you. Please try to understand that you need your memories more than I need mine. You have already experienced memory loss, which has been mostly recovered, but I have not. I am over one thousand years old, I have seen a lot, and I have also missed a lot. Although I may be mentally gone from your life, I will never be gone physically. We will always be friends, and I am sure that deep down I will always remember our time together. Even though I will forget you, I will always love you. Maybe I will still be able to help you on your adventures. Before the Battle of the Nyrs truly starts, I will be telling one of your closest friends to "cherish you." I will not tell you who, but I can promise that she would never turn her back on you, nor will any of your friends for that matter. I will always love you, Princess Luna Soren began crying again. His love was gone...but is there another one looking out for him? He wasn't sure looking for a new love was a smart idea. He just lost one so why risk losing another? 'A detour is what you need, dear friend. Don't lose the pathway to happiness. I have my plans in life, what do you have?' "...Nothing."