//------------------------------//
// Masks 
// Story: One Last Mission 
// by Show Stopper 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 7: Masks


As the girls followed Show through the ghost of Ponyville, they were surprised to find themselves being led towards the twenty foot wall that surrounded the base.

"Um, where are we going?" asked Twilight.

"Breakfast," replied Show. "Where else?"

They soon reached the Northern edge of town where they found a huge set of double doors guarded by about twenty soldiers. Show approached one of them and, after a short conversation, was led to a much smaller door off to the side. The girls followed as Show led them through this door and along the road north of Ponyville.

"Well, that's interesting," commented Rarity, looking back at the two sets of doors. "Why do they have two? Wouldn't that just make it easier to get in?"

"Not by much," said Show. "The main thing is that it makes it easier to get out. It takes a lot of effort to open the main doors, which we need in order to quickly move large forces. So we have smaller doors as well on the North ans East sides for individuals or small groups to use."

Everypony was shocked by Show's response, not because of what he said, but rather because of how he said it. "Well how do you like that?" said Applejack. "He actually answered a question right out for once. Didn't think you had it in you."

Show shrugged. "Don't get used to it, Jack. I'm a lot less sarcastic outside of the wall. Don't like wasting words. Trust me, once we get to the mess hall I'll be right back to my fun loving self."

"Really?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Then what self are you now?"

Show stopped and looked back at the girls, and Applejack was taken aback at what she saw. His eyes were full of fire, but also cold and hard. They were filled with a selfless stubbornness that Applejack knew well. His eyes said that he would do whatever had to be done to ensure his success, even if it cost him dearly. They were the same eyes Applejack saw in the mirror every Applebucking Season times twenty.

"My true self," he replied, turning and continuing on the path.

As the girls followed him, Applejack frowned. Mighty impressive, she thought to herself. I almost didn't catch it. She was distracted from her ponderings as they turned off down a well worn dirt road. But, this road leads to... Applejack broke into a gallop. She ignored her friends' cries asking her what was wrong. She ignored Show shouting for her to stay with the group. She even mostly ignored Rainbow Dash when she caught up to her, flying by her side. She barely glanced over long enough to catch Rainbow's eyes, eyes full of understanding. Finally, they reached the last hill, and Applejack skidded to a stop at the top.

"no"

The girls and Show finally caught up. While the girls merely stared in horror at what was beyond the hill, Show grabbed Applejack by the shoulders and turned her to face him.

"What were you thinking?" he shouted as Applejack turned her head back to look down beyond the hill. "First rule outside of the wall, NEVER GO OFF ALONE! What could possibly have possessed you to-"

Applejack turned to meet his eyes, and Show immediately stopped as he saw the shattered look she gave him. "It's gone," she whispered. "It's all gone."

Show raised an eyebrow and turned to look down the hill himself, seeing nothing unusual. Finally, he made the connection and released Applejack's shoulders. "Oh." It was really all that he could say.

Sweet Apple Acres was gone. The old house and barn had been torn down, replaced by a huge building that looked as if it could squeeze the entire population of Canterlot inside. The acres themselves had been tamed. Gone were the freely growing apple orchards, replaced by row after ridged row of potatoes, carrots, lettuce, celery, oranges, pears, peaches, and a precious few rows of apples.

Show sighed as tears started pouring down Applejack's face. "I'm sorry, Jack," he said, "but Bloom wasn't able to manage it by herself, and we needed the land. It's yours as soon as the war is over, but until then-"

He never saw the blow coming. One moment he was talking to Applejack, and the next he was flying down the hill with two hoofprints in his chest. He bounced and rolled until he finally slid to a stop at the bottom. By the time he got his hooves under him, Applejack was upon him again, pressing a forehoof down on his throat.

"You ain't sorry," she seethed, "an' Apple Bloom could have called in family to help. I get that you needed the land. I get that it was necessary." She leaned down until her muzzle was barely an inch from his, eyes burning with rage. "But don't you dare lie to me about feelin' sorry. Don't you dare try to make excuses. Y'all have no idea what you've really done here, but that don't matter. Weren't your decision to make." She lifted her hoof and stood tall again, still glaring down at him. "But don't you dare try to make it better by lyin'."

She walked off toward the giant mess hall, and Show was left to ponder how close to death he'd just come. The rest of the girls followed, only Rainbow stopping a moment to look down at Show. "They were buried there, you know?" she said. "Her family. The Apples don't use graves. They're buried at the foot of a tree. Some sort of superstition about their souls strengthening the orchard. You all basically tore up her family cemetery. Lying to the Element of Honesty just gave her a target for her anger."

Rainbow caught up just as the girls reached the mess hall. They were surprised as they approached to hear laughter and singing coming from inside. They opened the door and were faced with a sight that they hadn't seen since waking up in this shattered world. The mess hall was packed with ponies and gryphons, all of them laughing, talking, and generally having a good time."

"They seem surprisingly laid back," said Twilight. "Especially since this place doesn't have any guards."

"Doesn't need them," said Show jovially, coming up behind them. "This is the safest place in Equestria. Except for Utopians, of course. You know that dragon that lives over in the Everfree? Well, we struck up a little dealeo with him a while back. In return for us not turning his forest into farmland, he protects our crops. Only took three battalions of roasted Utopians before they got the message to stay away. The ash made for good fertilizer, too."

Everypony stared at the goofy grin on his face. "OK, what the hay is wrong with you?" demanded Applejack. "One minute you're rude, the next you're lyin' and serious, an' now you're tryin' to make a joke out of a bunch of dead ponies?"

"AJ," said Show. "Can I call you AJ?"

Applejack's back legs tensed. "No."

"AJ, I told you out there. I'm a totally different pony outside of the wall. Well, I'm also a different pony in here. Outside I need to be my careful self. Back at base I lighten the mood with my egotistical self. And in here, I'm free to be my true self. Now let's get some grub!"

True self my flank, thought Applejack as they walked to the line on the far side of the hall. All you've shown us are a bunch of masks. I bet you ain't shown your "true self" in years. Not that I'd expect anythin' different from someone who lies for a livin'.

"So let me get this straight," said Twilight. "You have a different personality for every situation?"

"Yuparooni!" said Show. "I'm a different pony here, in HQ, in the barracks, outside, behind enemy lines, at a ball, at a party, et cetera. That's why everyone hates me back at base but loves me here."

"With a few exceptions." Everypony except Show jumped and turned to see Scootaloo standing right behind them. Applejack noticed that Rainbow took a little longer to recover from her shock than the rest. Makes sense. This is probably mighty awkward for Rainbow, seein' how much Scootaloo looks like Sunshine now.

"Oh, please don't sneak up on ponies like that!" said Rarity. "You nearly scared me out of my whits."

Scootaloo smirked. "But that's what makes it fun! Besides, we've got to keep practicing stealth if we want to still be of any use once we get back in the field."

"I thought you and Apple Bloom were going to relax for a bit," said Rainbow.

"Actually," they all jumped again as they turned to see Apple Bloom in line ahead of them, "I find sneakin' around to be very relaxin'. You slow your breathin', measure your heart rate; it's like meditatin' while you walk."

"Ah yes," said Show. "You did mention that you do meditation." He lit his horn and grinned evilly at her. "How do you feel about levitation?"

"Alright! Alright!" said Apple Bloom, going back to stand beside Scootaloo. "Dang. Some ponies just get mean when you cut in line."

"When'd you start meditatin'," asked Applejack. "Ain't that just a bunch of mumbo jumbo?"

"Zecoura's the one who taught me," explained Apple Bloom. "It was about seven years ago, after..." she looked down, "...after the war started." Applejack winced and Apple Bloom shuddered. "The entire point is to calm your mind. A lot of us have taken it up. Helps us get to sleep at night."

"Pft," Rainbow scoffed. "I never liked it. It's just another way to run away from your problems. They always catch up eventually, so it's best to just meet them head on."

Apple Bloom sighed. "Yeah, that's what Scoots says, but not all of us are as strong as you two. I won't be able to move on from... from that until this war is over."

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "If you can't even say what happened, then you won't be able to move on at all," she countered. "If you keep pushing it back and back, it'll just keep growing until you finally snap!"

"It's worked for the last seven years," muttered Apple Bloom, avoiding Rainbow's eye.

"Funny," said Rainbow. "It did for me too. Did Scootaloo ever tell you what happened to me at year eight?" Apple Bloom winced. It was obvious that Scootaloo had told her. "Don't ler that happen to you. Stop running and face it head on." She turned to Applejack.

Applejack nodded. "You don't need to tell me, Sugarcube. Sunshine was the one who helped when Ma an' Pa passed. I don't forget her lessons that easily."

There was silence in the group for a while before they realized that the others had undoubtedly heard the whole thing. Applejack scuffed the ground as Rainbow suddenly became very interested in the ceiling. "So," she said in a transparent attempt to change the subject, "what's for breakfast?"

"Gruel, generally," said Show, giving no indication that he'd heard the conversation at all. "Who knows, though. It seems that word of your return has spread, so they may have something special on the menu."

"What makes you say that?" asked Twilight.

Show chuckled and gestured to the room at large. Sure enough, ponies and gryphons alike were staring and whispering. Some tried to hide it, but most pointed and gawked outright.

"Most of them thought you were all dead," said Show. "Thought you'd sacrificed yourselves to destroy Discord. 'Course, they were quite disappointed to learn that Discord was still alive after all. The theories then turned to 'He killed them, and now we're all doomed. Doomed!' Imagine their surprise when you come back the same as they remember. I bet most of them still think that this is some sort of hoax."

"We tried tellin' 'em," said Apple Bloom, "but most of 'em wouldn't believe us. Didn't think you'd ever come back." She smirked. "'Couse of that, Twist owes me five bits."

"Can you blame them?" asked Scootaloo. "Ten years is a long time to wait for a miracle. To be honest, I gave up after the first five."

Apple Bloom's jaw dropped. "Wh-WHAT? But you were the one that kept me an' Sweetie goin'! So encouragin'. So inspirin'!"

"It was a mask," admitted Scootaloo. "Just because i lost my hope didn't mean that you had to loose yours."

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "So you lied to 'em for five years instead?"

Scootaloo's glare could have shattered stone. "Would you rather that I'd told them that you were never coming back?" Applejack held her gaze for a moment before looking away. "That's what I thought," said Scootaloo. "You have no idea how terrible it was when I realized that you were all gone forever. Do you have any idea how many of us have volunteered for the most dangerous missions and attacks possible, just so that we could end it all? If I hadn't had to be there for Sweetie and Bloom..." She trailed off. "I wouldn't have waited for a dangerous mission," she admitted. "I probably would have just gotten as high as I could and closed my wings." Everypony gasped, and Rainbow went as white as a sheet. Scootaloo looked up at Apple Bloom. "I couldn't leave you two alone to become like me. That's why I kept encouraging you. Giving you hope."

Everypony was quiet until they reached the front of the line. Show hadn't been joking about the gruel, and Scootaloo hadn't been exaggerating when she'd told Twilight how few civilians there were. All of the cooks and servers were fillies and colts, the oldest looking about 15, and the youngest no older than six! Tears filled Fluttershy's eyes as she watched them, working tirelessly with dead or angry eyes. The youngest of them would have grown up with war being the only thing they knew.

After getting their food, they moved together toward an empty table. As soon as they were situated, Show slipped away into the crowds.

"Well," huffed Rarity, "so much for escorting us."

"Ah, give him a break," said Scootaloo. "This is his fifth day back after six years behind enemy lines. There's no way that he'll let anyone see it, but he's really missed everyone."

"Hey, I ain't complainin'," said Applejack as they began eating. "He wants to take his drama king self and leave us for a while, that's fine by me. Don't see why you keep stickin' up for him, though."

"What can I say?" asked Scootaloo, shrugging. "You can't help who you fall in love with."

Five minutes later, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Fluttershy noticed that nopony else was eating, and were staring at Scootaloo with dropped jaws. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Y-you?" stammered Rainbow. "With him! But... but he's so... so..."

"Old!" cried Rarity as Applejack said, "annoyin'!"

"Yeah, and worse!" said Rainbow. "How could you, how could anypony, be in love with him?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm just as confused as y'all. I mean, sure, he's a good friend an' all, but I honestly don't see what Scootaloo does in him."

"You haven't seen behind his mask," muttered Scootaloo. "Anyway," she spoke up, turning to Fluttershy, "I'm surprised that your jaw managed to stay up."

"Oh, well I already knew," said Fluttershy casually. Two minutes later she looked up to see that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's jaws had joined all of the others' on the ground. Fluttershy blushed. "I, um, have a really good sense for these things."

Twilight shook her head. "Moving on," she said, "I just don't understand how you could be in love with him, or even good friends with him. He's spent the last six years as a spy, right? How would you even get to know him."

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked to each other before looking back at the group and speaking in unison. "We get captured a lot."

"And I've had to bail out their sorry flanks more than once," said Show, walking over. "Sorry I ran off, but I had some important business to conduct elsewhere."

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Plotting with the gryphons on how to steel General Doo's eye-patch is important business?"


---------***---------


Breakfast was followed by a grand tour of HQ. Or as Show called it, "the tour of tears". It was an appropriately name, as many were shed by Fluttershy and Rarity. Almost nothing remained of their old home. Carousel Boutique had been turned into a storage unit. Sugarcube Corner had been replaced by a number of small barracks. Even the stream that had once run through the town had been redirected around it, its old course filled in and built over. The familiar curving roads and winding paths had been torn up and replaced with a straight, grid-like pattern. As they looked around what had once been a quaint little town at the foot of the mountains, the girls all had one question on their minds: "What happened to our home?" Twilight finally bucked up the nerve to ask aloud, causing Show Stopper to shrug.

"It died," he said simply. "Just another casualty of war."


---------***---------


It was a very somber group that made their way back to the mess hall for lunch. Just as they were about to enter however, they heard a cry behind them.

"Show Stopper!"

They stopped and turned to see two earth ponies running towards them, one a yellow mare with an orange mane, and the other a deep blue stallion with a mane the color of sand. "Show Stopper!" the mare called again. "Hold up, don't go inside yet! I'd rather talk to you while you're sober!"

Show rolled his eyes and turned to smile at them as they approached. "Captain Top," he greeted. "And Captain Shores. I see you two are back. How fared the campaign against New Yoke?"

"Pretty well," said Carrot Top. "We weren't able to retake it, as expected, but we were able to significantly reduce their forces before Trixie arrived to chase us out. We also managed to intercept a large force that was headed for Appleoosa. Took them out no problem. Even managed to take a few prisoners."

Show nodded. "That's good. That should thin their forces for a while. Guess Colonel Braeburn will be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive after all. So, what did you want to see me for? I assume that this wasn't just a social call."

Sandy Shores nodded. "Right, to business then. It's not actually you that we're here to see, but we heard that you were escorting some VIPs that we would be interested in."

Show nodded. "True enough." He gestured to the girls. "I believe these are the ones that you're looking for."

Sandy raised an eyebrow curiously, but Carrot's jaw dropped to the ground. She hadn't known any of them very well before, but her old business rival was easily recognized. "A-Applejack?" she asked incredulously.

Applejack smirked. "Nice to see you too, Golden Harvest. Ready for your sales to start droppin' again?"

Carrot Top glared at Applejack. "I told you not to call me that!" she said, grinding her teeth. "Besides, how do you plan to compete without you precious orchard?"

The rest of the girls gasped and glared at Carrot Top, but Applejack just chuckled. "Well now, that sounds like a challenge right there. Trust me; give me two years to get this place whuped back into shape, an' you'll be back to eatin' carrots with every meal just to get by."

Carrot Top's glare held for another moment before it softened into a warm smile. "It's like you never left," she said softly, shaking her head.

"Um, care to clue me in?" asked Sandy Shores. "Who are these mares?"

Show rolled his eyes. "I knew you were slow, Shores," he said, "but not this slow. Think about it. Six mares. Gone for a long time. One of them named Applejack and talking about this land like it's hers."

Sandy Shores' brow was furrowed in confusion for a moment before his eyes grew suddenly wide. "Y-you mean," he stammered, "these six are The Six?"

Carrot Top nodded. "That explains the light show a few days ago," she muttered. She turned to look Sandy in the eyes. "Looks like it's time. Our job is over."

"What are you talkin' about?" asked Applejack.

Carrot Top reached into her saddlebags and turned to look at Rarity. "I believe this," she said, pulling something out, "is yours."

Rarity's jaw dropped. Hanging from Carrot Top's hoof was a beautiful golden necklace with intricate designs carved along it's length. At the front of the necklace was placed a glittering amethyst, shaped like a traditional diamond. Sandy Shores reached into his own saddlebags and pulled out a similar necklace, this one featuring a balloon shaped aquamarine. Tears began flowing down Rarity and Pinkie's faces as they stepped forward, Rarity using her magic to take the necklaces and fasten them around their bearers' necks.

Sandy Shores and Carrot Top both sighed in relief. "You have no idea how good that feels," muttered Carrot Top, "to be free of such a burden."

Rarity smiled gently at her. "It cannot be nearly as good as the feeling of having it restored," she whispered.

"Maybe for you," grumbled Sandy Shores. "You're the rightful Bearers. For us it was like carrying around a huge weight all the time. It's like they knew that we weren't you."

"Of course they knew, silly," said Pinkie, beaming from ear to ear, a few tears still leaking out. "After all, we never used them to take cities and battle meanie armies. We just blast bad guys with friendship!"

Everypony shared a warm laugh, causing Pinkie's smile to widen even further. Show and the girls headed in to get lunch, and for the first time since they woke up, everypony was smiling again.