Flowing Wind trotted across the dirt path, debating with himself. His initial plan had been to visit the nearby village and to get his bearings there, but he was no longer so sure. The more he thought, the more he realized that he had no real knowledge of his final destination that would come after the town. After thinking upon this for a few more minutes, he took a deep breath.
Hello?
Oh, hi. Am I allowed to talk now?
Uh...yes? I just thought that we should get to know each other a little bit better. After all, we're going to be like...well, like "this" for a while.
Alright. What do you want to know?
Wind stopped for a moment. What did he want to know? He had far too many questions spinning around inside of his head. Settling on one, he once again spoke.
Whats' your name?
I've got a few. Some ponies have called me Savior. I've been called Loyalty, too. You know me as Hero.
...what do you call yourself?
The voice halted in its speech for a moment.
You're smarter than I thought.
He grinned inwardly.
My name is Rainbow Dash.
Alright, Rainbow Dash. My name is Flowing Wind.
Alright.
They continued on in silence for a few more minutes. Wind gazed across the fields, enjoying the feel of the sunlight on his back. If he ignored the state of his fields, the morning was beautiful and uplifting to see.
Wind?
Yeah?
I get that you're trying to be friendly, but...we really need to stay focused on our most important goals.
...okay.
Alright. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, just...yeah. Anyways, where are we going?
I'm just walking into town. It'll take all day to get there, but it's the best shot we've got. From there, we'll be able to get a faster mode of transportation to take us...well, wherever we need to go.
So, where do we need to go? I mean, I guessed as much as the town.
Wind's hoofsteps stopped.
...what do you mean?
I mean where are we going after the town? Where's the first mask?
Y...you mean you don't know...?
...oh...
You don't know? I thought that you knew!
Alright, calm down for a minute.
Wha - calm down?! We're on a time limit, Hero! There's no time for us to be running around with no plan!
Chill. Out. Having a breakdown won't solve anything, right?
I...but...okay, okay. Fine. I'm calm, see?
Yes. You're doing much better.
Yeah, I got that. But what do we do now?
Well...I'm not sure. The Oracle couldn't have expected you to already know the locations, so she had to have left something with you to go off of. Why don't you check your bags?
I...alright...
Wind's saddlebags blew up a small cloud of dust when he swung them down onto the ground. He sifted through them, careful not to damage their contents. Coming across packaged food and water, a faint smile touched his lips, and he gave silent thanks for his wife's thoughtfulness. He finally came across a simple, undecorated wooden box, clearly not placed there by his wife. He levitated it out into the sunlight, turning it over with his magic.
I found a box. I'm pretty sure this is it...
Okay, then. Let's see what's inside.
Wind's expression scrunched up in worry. O-okay... He backtracked along the dirt path, bringing the box along with him. He then used his magic to keep the box afloat as he went back to stand with his saddlebags.
Uh...what are you doing?
He replaced the saddlebags onto his back. Well, we don't know what's inside of it, do we? It's also from the Oracle, so we can't be too careful.
What do you mean "it's from the Oracle?" She supports us. It's not like anything she gives us is going to cause any real harm.
She pulled you out of the afterlife and stuck you into my head. Now I've got to listen to you all day. I would be calling that "real harm."
You're a riot. Just open it already.
Wind's small moment of satisfaction quickly melted away. Cringing, he opened the box in one swift motion. A few moments passed before Wind turned to look at box's contents. He brought the box up to his face.
...is that...?
She's given us a...is that a rabbit mask?
Yeah...yeah, that's a rabbit mask.
Sitting in the box was a wooden, cream colored mask with a pointed noise, whiskers, eyeholes, and two long rabbit ears.
See? We didn't have anything to worry about in the first place.
I just don't get it. What in Equestria are we going to use this thing for? As Wind lifted the mask out of the box, he revealed a minuscule square of paper. Realizing that it was folded, he spread it out over the ground and saw what he assumed to be the Oracle's hoofwriting.
She's left us a letter...the Oracle, that is.
Alright. What does it say?
Wind cleared his throat.
"To Flowing Wind and the Hero,
First, allow me to express my condolences to Mr. Wind. My spell, though necessary, was clearly uncomfortable for you. For that, I apologize. Beyond that, allow me to get to the point - both of you understand your mission. Regardless of when you read this letter, know that, by noon of the morning following my meeting with both of you, your deadline will be a little over 60 hours in the future. In that time, you must collect the three ancient masks of the Hero and do battle with the Skull Kid. The first mask, passed down from Oracle to Oracle, is now with me - I am holding it for safekeeping. It is never a good idea to put all of one's eggs in one basket - to that end, you will locate and collect the remaining two masks before coming to Canterlot to retrieve my mask. You will find the second mask within an ancient castle. This castle is so old that even I know not its name nor intent. However, the legends surrounding the castle suggest that it existed during the Hero's original lifetime. The castle is hidden deep within a treacherous forest, located by the town of Bottle Grotto. Wind is familiar with this town and will know the way to it."
Jeez, could we have a little more 'RPG' in this letter?
...what's 'RPG?'
Uh...inside joke, don't worry about it. Keep reading.
Wind shrugged and continued.
"The third mask's exact location is a mystery. All we have to go off of are shaky legends of a place called 'Death Mountain.' However, there is only one mountain range in Equestria, and none of the mountains within it fit any of the various descriptions of Death Mountain. Despite this, the mountains are still your best chance of finding it, so I can only suggest that you look for the mask there.
"Return to me once you have the second and third masks. I await your safe arrival - good luck. -Oracle"
He frowned, returning the box and the letter to his saddlebags. Turning his attention back to the enclosed mask, he spun it around a few times in the sunlight. However much he examined it, he could not find anything special or particularly useful about it. It was just an ordinary wooden rabbit mask - however ordinary a wooden rabbit mask can be, that is. He turned the mask so that his face was level with its back.
Guess it couldn't hurt...
He placed the mask over his face.
Uh...I don't know about that, Wi-
RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN
~~~~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~
RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN
WIND! STOP RUNNING!
RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN
Oh, boy...um, wheat!
RUNRUNRUNRUN
Barley! Hay! Come on, work with me here!
RUNRUNRUNRUN
Hey, we're going to pass the town! Hello?! STOP, WE'RE AT THE TOWN!
...RUN?
TAKE OFF THE MASK!
Flowing Wind gasped, falling to the ground. Out of breath, he lay there for a few moments, trying to steady his racing heartbeat.
Huff...huff...
Oh, thank Celestia...Wind?
Yeah...I...
Wind! You okay, buddy?
I...I feel like I just ran from here...to the ends of the Earth...
Well, that's not very far from the truth...
...huh?
Shakily getting to his hooves, Wind noticed a slight change in scenery around him. His family's farm was no longer in sight and the dirt path beneath him was now a refined cobblestone road. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed a branch in the road that led into a dark, gnarled forest a little ways away from him.
I know that forest...He quickly turned away, only to see a collection of dull houses squashed together at the end of his path.
Whoa...
'Whoa' is right. You scared me there, dude.
Um...sorry...w-what happened? I remember putting on the mask, and then...
Well...you kind of lost it for a minute. You started running down the path like your life depended on it. You were going FAST, too. Faster than anypony should ever be able to run.
Wind lowered his gaze to the ground. The rabbit mask sat there, innocent and unassuming.
Fast...like a rabbit.
What?
He brought out the box from his saddlebags, replacing the mask within them. He began to trot into the village. Rabbits are fast, right? So the mask made me fast.
Well, yes. But what does that mean?
It means that we've got be more careful around masks. We were only looking for three masks, but there are clearly more than three out there. I've got the feeling that this one won't be the last that we encounter. We should keep an eye out for them, is all.
Definitely.
By this time, Wind had entered the town proper. He was walking on what appeared to be a side street - a cobblestone road flanked by wooden, low-lying houses. There was a group of foals playing by one house's porch in the dust. The town was all dull colors, grays and dirty whites smeared across crumbling homes filled with ponies of the same colors, living lives filled with ashen grays and whites that used by bright and hopeful. They weren't hopeful anymore.
Where did you say we were...?
Well, the town doesn't have a strictly defined name anymore. Different ponies call it different things. But most call it Bottle Grotto. A long time ago, it was famous for exporting the finest glassware in all of Equestria. Nowadays...well, you can see the state it's in.
What happened to it? How'd it get like this?
He shrugged. Who knows? It's been this way for as long as I can remember.
They trotted in silence for a few more minutes before reaching the central plaza of the town. It, like the side street, was dull and lifeless. The area was completely barren this time, with not a single pony to be seen. Wind sat next to a dusty, dried out fountain in the center of the plaza.
Alright. We need a game plan.
Yeah. For starters, those woods that we passed earlier have to be the ones that the Oracle was talking about. We'll need to go in there to get the first mask.
But...I guess we can't just waltz in there?
Hmm...no, no. I've been to this town before, and it's a confusing place, from what I heard. We need to find somepony who knows the area to guide us through it.
Well, you know your way around this place. Where should we start looking?
CRASH!
A pony fell onto the street in front of Wind. He jumped and stepped back from the unmoving stallion. After a moment, Wind realized that the pony appeared to be sleeping. He heard a door creak open and looked up to see a gruff, older stallion leaning out of a house.
"An' stay out!" The stallion punctuated his sentence by slamming the door.
Wind gulped. I guess that's as good a place as any to start...