//------------------------------// // Learning (4) // Story: Behind the Masks // by Troutking //------------------------------// Tweets and chirps rang out through the window, filling Twilight's ears. Slowly she began rise up from her slumber. A gentle yawn escaped her mouth as she slowly opened her eyes. The rays of the sun shone through the window and fell on Twilight, warming her and imparting a pleasant sensation. Tumbling out from her bed, Twilight groggily went through her usual morning ritual of brushing her mane and teeth. After serenely going through her routine, the peaceful morning thoughts she held were shattered by a familiar bickering. "You were wrong. What you were insinuating was, she wouldn't throw a book at us like that." Spoke a voice giving a rather coarse mimicry of Spike’s. "Well, maybe she was joking around." The darker side of the creature seemed to narrow it’s eyes at it’s other half. "With that big of a book and with that much force?" "Could be very serious joking." "Now, you're making excuses to simply keep your point up. We are, at best, friends with her." Twilight stood in the doorway to the bathroom in shock. The split creature from yesterday stood before her, arguing once more with itself. Thoughts raced through Twilight's mind at a mile a minute. It can't be real. It was just an illusion brought on by sleep deprivation. Yet despite what she thought, the creature still stood in front of her. In fact, the monster seemed to have an even greater presence in the room. The colors on its body seemed bolder and it's voice clearer. "She is a friend and nothing more." "You're a liar..." The lighter half attempted to shout but only sounding out a near whimper. "You're blind if you can't see it." They continued to bicker between each other without end. Whenever one would find a valid point in the fight, the other would redirect the argument. Neither could gain a foothold to convince the other half. Twilight began to recover from the shock of seeing the creature once more. Direct hits destroyed them last time... it can do it again. This solitary thought wandered through her mind. Looking over to the bookcase, Twilight pulled out another book with her magic. Twilight shut her eyes as she swung at the creature. Peeking through one eye, Twilight looked at the place of the creature only to see magic dust dissipating. Twilight sunk down and attempted to put her mind back into order. "They were just illusions brought on by my sleep deprivation, weren't they? No... or else it wouldn't have shown up after a night's rest. So that means it must be magical in nature, not psychological. If it's magical, then there must be a book about it. If there is a book about it then I can find it!" She stood up after regaining her composure. Twilight marched downstairs to make something to eat before a vigorous study session. On the final step of the stairs, Twilight stopped as she saw Spike and nearly mistook him for the creature. She carried on to the kitchen cautiously. Spike turned around to see Twilight. The small dragon smiled as he spotted Twilight but remained by the counter. "Twilight, you're finally up!" "Sorry, I must have slept in quite a bit; it was a... interesting sleep." "I could tell. You wouldn't stop talking in your sleep." Twilight stopped for a moment. "What was I talking about?" "I dunno, only got bits of it. You kept talking about someone arguing." Powerful magic if it can affect my dreams like that... "Well, I hope that I won't have anything else like that." "Me too, anyway I'm just making some gem cake. There is a sandwich in the fridge if you're hungry." "Thanks Spike, I'll need the energy." He rolls his eyes at the comment knowing the reason why. "Let me guess, another super Twilight study session?" "Yeah, I just curious about a few things this morning and couldn't get them out of my head until I figure them out." "You know, if you keep studying like that you'll end up a hermit." Twilight rolled her eyes as she proceeded to the fridge and pulled out a daisy sandwich. Proceeding to the library center, Twilight pulled out several books that featured either high level mind or illusion magics. Various spells listed effects like the ones she experienced but they either lacked a few or they were too obvious for them to be effective. Time slipped by slowly as she scanned through every book in hopes to find either a spell or a phenomenon that would cause what was happening. "I'm going out to help Rarity at her shop. You won't need me right?" "Uh huh..." Twilight emptily spoke, too consumed to pay proper attention to what he said. Spike closed the door slowly as to not snap Twilight from her trance of studying. After a few more volumes of books, Twilight had exhausted all of the resource material that she thought would hold the answer. The mare rested her head on the table and sighed. Nearly 235 spells and phenomenon yet not one of them was the one occurring to her. Not even the rarer events like wild magic or superstitions like curses. "Alright, let's rewind a bit. The first time I think I saw one, was... in street with Applejack. Before that... I, read that book from the hidden compartment. I can't believe I forgot about it." Twilight quickly rushed over to where she placed the book and brought it out. The old tome was the same as before. Placing it on the table, Twilight flipped through the pages until she found the spell she had cast. The text brought back memories of that night. "Let's see here... Hmmm... where was that book on spell structure?" Twilight grabbed a dark blue book from the shelf and placed it beside her. "Let's see this is a seven stanza spell weave..." Twilight flipped through the blue book to find the proper page. "So let's see here... First stanza should be the target of the spell..." Twilight looked at the spell once more to find the target. The book read, "From the souls and minds of my friends and foe." ,clearly stating the targets as both friends and foes of the caster. "Hmmm... Stanza 2 to 5 is the desired effect... So, the effect is... to see the truth..." Twilight tapped her hoof against the table as she thought. "Truth... what kind of truth though... I can figure that out later, for now let's see what the final stanza is for..." Twilight returned to the book only to find the final stanza not there. She remembered the reason for her inability to complete the spell properly. The image of the glowing orb of light still flashed through her mind. Shaking off the memory of the ball, she returned to her books. "Let's see... last stanza is...oh no... oh no no no no no no no!" Twilight rubbed her face to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Twilight fell into a sitting position from what she learned. Her hooves held her face as she breathed heavily. She shook her head back and forth trying to recover. Eventually, she calmed down enough to look at the book once more. Filled with hope that she had misread the paragraph detailing the point of the final stanza, she reread it. At the bottom of the page it read: "The final stanza is generally very important for the whole spell. It gives the spell an ending so that it's effects can eventually wear off. Such an ending can either be a word or simply by the will of the user. If the spell is read without the seventh stanza then it either is meant to permanent or it is incomplete. Effects of a 7 stanza spell without the last stanza are virtually irreversible and it is advised you not use one unless you are absolutely sure." Twilight began to panic about what she read. The spell clearly had at least a seventh verse to it. Fear grew larger, as she realized that she might be stuck seeing those awful creatures for the rest of her life. Then she stopped for moment and thought. The book said virtually irremovable, that means there is a chance she could remove it. If there was a chance who would know better than Celestia. All she needed to do was explain the mistake she had made to her mentor. Surely, the princess of the sun can undo this sort of spell. Filled with even more hope Twilight began to write out the circumstances out on a letter. After a minute or so, she had the letter to explain everything that had happened. "Spike, I need you to send a letter for me." She said confidently while waiting for her dragon messenger. No reply was given to Twilight. "Spike?" Once more, she was left only with silence. Twilight began to look around the library for him with little luck. She sat down at the kitchen table and laid her head down on it. Looking across from her, she spotted a small piece of paper leaning against the fruit bowl. Grabbing the note, Twilight began reading it swiftly. "Dear Twilight, Since most likely you didn't hear me when I told you where I was leaving because of your study coma, I have decided to leave you this note. I am currently helping Rarity at her boutique. If you need me to send something, then either wait for me at home or come to the boutique. From Spike. P.S. Please take my gem cake out of the oven before it burns, thanks." Twilight sighed after reading the note. "It's both convenient and sad that he knows me well enough to leave this..." Twilight took out the cake from the oven before leaving her sanctuary. The warmth of the sun hit her softly. A peaceful aura seemed to radiate out from the town filled her with a calmness. Singing of the birds flowed through her ears like a beautiful symphony of nature. Foals playing are heard off in the distance, and with the soft whisper of far off conversations both graced her ears. Her worries were almost washed away from the jovial feelings coming from the town. She got a hold of herself and began her journey to the boutique. The unicorn maintained a steady pace of walking. She gazed around at her surroundings making sure none of the creatures lurked around somewhere. Twilight reached the town square. Just like the previous day, a multitude of vendors had set up their stands. Smells of lovely products and merchandise filled the air. Sounds of bits and objects being exchanged created a melody of business. Applejack was set up in her usual place. Fresh apples adorned her stand. Twilight approached the cart assuming a few moments couldn't hurt since it wasn't likely Spike would leave Rarity's early. Applejack turned to greet Twilight. "Well, howdy Twi, hope you're doing better than yesterday." It was probably best not to tell her friends of her situation. "Yes, I'm fine; just needed some rest is all." "Well that's good to hear." Applejack grabbed one of the apples from her cart and offered it to Twilight. "Here, apple a day keeps the doc away." Twilight took the apple and smiled. "Thanks, sorry if I was out of it yesterday." The entire world suddenly went dead silent. Applejack's mouth moved as if she was speaking but no sound came out. Only a quiet whisper could be heard in the cold silence. I don't need them... Twilight froze at the sound of the voice. She began to look all around herself looking for the creature that she was sure would appear. Nothing seemed to appear before her. The square seemed the same. The smell of day old food and other merchandise surrounded her. Yet the world seemed to almost slow down for her as the adrenaline began to pump. Sound soon returned to her ears, as Applejack seemed to snap her out of it. "Twi, you alright?" "Yah, I just thought I..." She stopped when she looked at her friend once more. The once healthy and strong body of her friend was shrivelling away at an alarming pace. Her skin began to cling to her bones. The eyes sunk into skull as her hair began to form into a large rat nest. Grey seemed to envelope the body of the mare much like it had with Discord. Twilight took a step back only to notice the stench of rotten food and rotten wood. She looked at the apple currently in her hoof only for it to decompose. Quickly she jerked her hoof back allowing the rotting mess fall to the ground. Looking up to the stand, she saw the repugnant slosh that was once Applejack's stock. The wood of the stand creaked and groaned. Black molds began to climb up the stand and apples. The world seemed to follow along with this twisted image as the groans and pops from other stand echo out into the air. Twilight looks around panicked by what is occurring. It's just an illusion. That single though constantly repeated in her mind only for the smells and sounds to say otherwise. Suddenly, she was grabbed by Applejack. "Twilight, snap out of it!" In that single instant, everything turned back to normal. The horrible noises of rotten food bursting and stand groaning was replaced by the usual sounds of commerce. Fresh air and produce swept away the noxious odor. Twilight was still hyperventilating as she watched a virtual walking corpse spontaneously grow back into the friend she knew. "Twilight, get a hold of yourself." "Oh, uh, Applejack, I... uh..." "May need to see a doctor more than have an apple. You just suddenly freaked out after I gave you one." "Yeah, I just had a... really vivid daydream..." "Must have been one heck of a daydream then. Looked like you saw the pale pony himself." "No, I just...I just have to stop stressing is all. I have to go see Spike about sending a letter." "You sure you're alright? I wouldn't mind closing down shop for a bit so I can get Spike and you can get home to rest." "It's fine, really, probably just a one-time thing is all." "Alright then, take care, Twi." "Thanks." Twilight continued her trek to boutique despite what she had saw. The world around her remained blissfully unaware of everything that had occurred in those few short moments. Birds sang their joyful songs and the whispered conversations around her seemed to grow. A single thought reverberated through her skull as she paced through the town. What truth did that horrible image show her? The spell was meant to show her the truth so it meant the spell must show her some sort of truth. Yet, all she saw was a world rotting away that required help. Twilight continued through town, making sure not to allow anything to halt her advance. Sugar Cube Corner marked her journey as nearly finished. The business around the store was average for what a weekend would be like. The entire world was bustling with life. Not allowing of it to stop her, Twilight proceeded down the street only to be blocked by a pink blur. "Heya, Twilight! My left and right hooves are twitchy! You know what that means!" "Pinkie, I don't have time for this right now, I have to get to Rarity's." "Awwww, but this one is really good! Lefty and righty twitchy means watch out for falling alligators!" "Watch out for... oh no..." Twilight looked up in the nick of time to see the green monster fly towards her. Within a moment, the menace clasped onto Twilight's horn with its toothless mouth. "Pinkie, I would ask why Gummy was flying but I really have to get to Rarity's and also because you're Pinkie and you don't need a reason." Would they prefer another me? "Oh no..." Twilight quickly searched around and this time taking special care of making sure Pinkie didn't change. The world seemed fine for the brief moment of time. "Oh no?" "Oh no... I'm late with a meeting with Rarity." "Maybe you meant, oh no, not this Pinkie." A voice called out from behind Twilight. Quickly spinning around to face the creature she was only greeted by another Pinkie. This one looked much like the other, except her eyes were brown. "Maybe she meant, oh no, that Pinkie?" Once more Twilight turned to face the source of the voice only to face another pink pony. This one's hair was combed straight down. "Silly billy milly foo fi tillies! She must have meant oh no those Pinkies!" Another Pinkie stepped out from behind the straight haired Pinkie. The new one had extremely fluffed coat and mane to the point where it bordered on the ridiculous. "No... she meant... uh... oh no... us Pinkies..." A multitude of Pinkies began to spring up from every direction. Through a small gap between the ever-increasing swarm of pink ponies Twilight spotted a stallion with a brown mane and coat. For a few moments, she felt that someone else might be in this nightmare with her. Until the stallion stopped and looked at her. His body began to shift and morph. He screamed in pain as his bones shrunk and shifted. He shed all of his fur only for pink fur to replace it. Only after this could Twilight hear the other ponies scream as they all transformed into more Pinkies. The space between her and the mass of pink slowly grew smaller until she was nearly suffocating in the maelstrom of Pinkie Pies. Slowly the air drained from Twilight's lungs as she was crushed under the mass of this hoard. "Hey silly billy! You done making that face at me?" A single voice spoke out from the crowd of screams. Just like before the world shifted back to normal. The mass of ponies vanished into thin air. Sounds of screaming were no longer present and the ponies seemed to have not even noticed. Twilight looked around to see the same stallion walking around as if nothing had happened. Rubbing her eyes, Twilight stared at Pinkie. "Oh! Are we going to have a funny face contest? Because I don't think I could beat yours. It was pretty fantabulistic!" "No, Pinkie... I'm not having a silly face contest. I just had a bit of zone out moment." Twilight forced a smile despite her discomfort. "Awww... Oh well, but I guess you zoned back in." "Heh... I guess I did." "Yup, well I suppose I should leave you to your finding of ponies of the Rarity persuasion!" "Thanks... Hey Pinkie, you know you can talk to me if you have problems." "Well duh, I know you guys are there! Just like I am for all my friends! Now get outta here, you got a pony to find so you can find your dragon!" "How did you... you know what, never mind, I wasted enough time as it is. Bye, Pinkie Pie." "Cya!" Pinkie seemed to vanish in a blur of pink. Twilight didn't move for a bit so she could calm down again. Soon enough, she ventured forward to the Carousel Boutique. Once more, the thoughts of what the illusions showed her ran through her mind. What could either of the visions mean? What truth could create such a horrible events and scenes? Despite how much she wanted to know she couldn't figure it out. Focusing on what she would do if more of the illusions popped up, Twilight created a plan in case. No longer would she be the victim of the horrendous imagery presented in the illusions. Soon Twilight approached the grand building that was Rarity's boutique. The multi-tiered building stood quite tall compared to the other buildings in Ponyville. Light seemed to reflect off of the white walls of the building. Twilight entered the boutique. The posh interior was filled with various dresses and materials. In the back of the building was a stage of sorts surrounded by mirrors. The rest of the floor was filled with racks of clothes that ranged from the highest of high society to the lowest of high society. Mannequins were organized in the back except for the one located in the center of the room. Rarity stood beside the mannequin placing needles into the dress that was fitted onto it. By her side was Spike with various needles in his back. Both of them looked over to Twilight as she entered the building. "Ah, Twilight dear, how have you been? It's been much too long since we talked." "We talked yesterday..." "We did? Oh, dear I'm sorry it's just with all this work I've been doing it's been hard to keep track of everything. Luckily, Spikey Wikey has been generous enough to help me." "Yes, well, I need Spike for a quick second. It's really urgent." "It's alright with me, dear. He is your assistant after all." Rarity removed the pins from Spike’s back and put them into the mannequin adjacent to herself. "Watcha need Twilight?" Spike stood up and walked over to Twilight. "I need you to send this letter to Celestia." "Friendship report, darling?" "Kinda, anyway just in case. If I seem to zone out for a moment try to get me to snap out of it as soon as possible." "What an odd request, but if you need it then I shall deliver a swift jolt." Twilight pulled the letter out of her bag she carried with her. "Thanks, Spike here is the note for Celestia." "Some day you must let me replace that ratty old bag of yours." With one swift action, Spike blew fire upon the scroll, sending it on its merry way. The small dragon looked back at Twilight. "Need anything else?" "Uh... no, I'm good now." "Alright, back to work, I suppose." "Are you sure you don't want me to make you a new bag? It's no trouble really." "No, I'm alright Rarity. Besides, you have your own business to run." "I suppose you're right." Sighing Rarity looked back to the mannequins covered in various clothes. Who do I belong to? "I'm ready for you this time." "Ready for whom, darling?" Twilight scoured the entire boutique for signs of either the Spike creature or Rarity creature. Silence once more befell the world. The racks of dresses that surrounded Twilight began to shake violently. Clothing from the racks fell onto the floor and began mixing together. The mixed clothes gathered near the center of the room and enveloped the area that Rarity was. Slowly wrapping around themselves the clothes formed up. Eventually the clothes created a strange patchwork creature. It shared the same mane style and body of Rarity but made purely out of numerous materials. Each piece of fabric sewn into place. The creature merely stared at Twilight for a few short moments before starting to walk over to Spike. Unable to move any piece of her body, Twilight watched the patchwork monster put its hooves on Spike. Slowly the fabric seemed to sew into the dragon's body. Thread by thread Spike became more consumed by the creatures’ grasp. This went on for a few moments before a voice rung out. "Twilight dear, here comes the shock you asked for." The scenery vanished within an instant of the voice reaching out to her. Twilight shook her head to shake off the groggy feeling that came with the illusions. However before Twilight could fully understand what was happening, a sharp needle stabbed her flank. "AH!" Twilight exclaimed in pain. "Was that too hard, darling?" "Just a bit..." "Well, you didn't specify so I assumed you wanted good shock." "Don't worry, it's alright. At least you help me get out of that ni... daydream." "Having a lot of them, I assume?" "Yes, I think I'll figure something out but for now I gotta head home before I 'zone' out again." "Take care dear, and careful with those daydreams." "I'll be home later tonight, Twilight." "Alright Spike, I'll put your cake in the fridge." With that, Twilight set out for home, content that Celestia would receive her message and reply. Yet the unsettling feeling of the possibility of the creatures appearing before put her on an edge. The life of the town seemed to die down in the evening. Most of the stalls had packed up and went home. Applejack remained by her cart and gave a nod to Twilight as she passed by. Even at twilight, the entire town was blissful. Not a single soul knew what she had seen. The horrors created by some sort of truth from her friends. What truths could possibly fabricate such awful things as what she saw? That question had been bouncing through her mind for the entire day and has yet to be answered When Twilight returned to her fortress of solitude, she began to write down the day’s events in a journal. Every detail that she could remember from the beginning to the end of the day. By the time she was finished writing it, Spike had returned home and had gone to bed. Twilight decided to go to bed as well and wait for the Princesses' reply to her plea. Twilight laid her head down on her soft pillow and slowly drifted off to the dream world.