6 - The CMC's Masked Craziness
Alex let out a gasp as he grabbed the top of the ledge, then hoisted himself onto the ledge. “That was certainly harder to get to than I thought,” he said as he turned around, then shuddered as he looked at the sheer cliff below him. Shortly after Josh had left, he had discovered that the Kanohi was actually farther up in a cavern in the cliff. It had taken a bit of maneuvering, but he had eventually reached the cavern.
“Now, where is that Kanohi at?” Alex asked as he began to walk into the cavern. He didn’t take long for him to find out something, though, as that something flew at him, the size of the projectile easily dwarfing Alex. Alex dove to the side, the projectile flying passed him, and Alex took the time the projectile took to swing around to slap on the Mask of Healing, transforming into his Bo-Toa form within seconds. As he finished transforming and focused on the projectile, he let out a curse as he realized what that projectile was as well as how it was flying.
“YOU WON’T ENTER TOM’S HOME!!” A large being made of stone bellowed, the Mask of Flight enlarged to giant-size as it dive-bombed him. Alex used the vine-axe to swing out of the cave troll’s way, and was barely able to avoid the stone monster crashing into the ground before swooping back up.
“Well, I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me,” Alex said as looked up at the flying troll, then, with a throw of his vine-axe, took pursuit. As he swung upwards, he only hoped that there weren’t any other Kanohi that were found while he was busy.
Scootaloo’s POV
“Are they still there?” Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo, the orange pegasi reaching underneath the floorboards while Apple Bloom kept lookout for anypony coming closer.
“Yep, they’re right here!” Scootaloo said as she pulled the three masks they had each found, then spread them out on the ground.
“What do you think they are?” Apple Bloom asked as they looked at their discoveries, picking up the oddly shaped black mask she had found on Saturday and held it up, the ridges on the top of the mask glinting in the sunlight.
“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said, picking up the grey-and-blue mask she had found herself, then turned to Sweetie Belle and said to her, “Perhaps we should go over the CMC logs to double-check for any sign of a pattern?”
“Alright, but I don’t think this will help any more than the last few times we did it,” Sweetie Belle said dubiously, lifting up the scroll containing the actions of their last few meetings, the white skull-like mask laying at her feet.
“Saturday, 8:34 AM:,” Sweetie Belle recited, “Apple Bloom found her mask on Sweet Apple Acres near the Everfree underneath the roots of ‘Sandy’. Saturday, 7:25 PM: Scootaloo found her mask in the woods by the school during our attempt of trying to become ‘Stunt Pony Cutie Mark Crusaders’, and both masks were stored in the treehouse for safe-keeping. It should also be noted that attempt was unsuccessful. Sunday, 9:12 PM: I found the ‘Skull Mask’ in the bushes next to the Carousel Boutique, and put it with the other two.”
“Oh, it’s pointless!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, throwing her hooves in the air in frustration. “We know absolutely nothang about this, and reviewing this darn info won’t help this.”
“If only we knew someone who knew everything about everything…” Scootaloo grumbled, putting her head on her forelegs.
A few seconds passed after this statement was uttered, then everypony looked at each other and exclaimed, “TWILIGHT!!!”
“She’s the smartest pony in Equestria; She’d have to know what these thangs are!” Apple Bloom said, holding up both her own and Sweetie Belle’s masks for emphasis.
“It’s settled, then!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, then pointed out of the window and exclaimed, the other two joining her, “TO TWILIGHT’S!!”
A few seconds later, allowing for them to put the masks in their satchels, and they were soon running into town, Scootaloo in the lead on her scooter.
“Wait up, Scootaloo!” She heard Apple Bloom cry out from behind her, but in her own joy, Scootaloo paid no heed to the warning as she zoomed down the road, the wind making her eyes water from the speed. Her carelessness was her downfall, though, as she failed to notice somepony as she rounded the corner. This resulted in the two of them crashing, sending the unsuspecting pony spiralling back while Scootaloo fell down, her scooter and mask clattering on the ground next to her.
“Watch where you’re going,” the pony said as she righted herself, then stopped as she realized who had crashed into her. “Oh, it’s the blank flank,” she said, sneering slightly at the orange pegasi.
“What is it, Tiara?” Scootaloo snapped, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle having caught up with her at this point.
“Well, I was searching for a Nightmare Night costume, when you rammed into me,” Diamond Tiara said condescendingly, then noticed the mask laying on the ground. “What’s this?” She asked, picking the mask up with her hooves.
“Hey, give that back!” Scootaloo exclaimed, leaping forwards to grab it back, only for Diamond Tiara to lift it out of her reach.
“Is this your Nightmare Night costume?” Diamond Tiara said, then chuckled before throwing the mask at Scootaloo. “That’s a fitting costume for a blank flank. What did you do to make it: carve it from one of your friend’s apple trees?”
“Hey!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, “An Apple tree would never be used for a simple mask!”
“That’s true…” Diamond Tiara slowly said, “After all, they couldn’t be sturdy enough for such tasks if they were grown by families like yours, leaving them frail and sub-par.” At this, she slowly turned towards Scootaloo as she continued, “Then again, your family has accepted sub-par before.”
“Shut it, Tiara!” Scootaloo snapped, her eyes narrowed in anger.
“What are you going to do: Fly up and drop me from the sky?” Diamond Tiara asked, then smirked. “Oh, wait,” she said, “You can’t. All you are is a cutie mark-less. Flightless. Filly.” It was then that Scootaloo’s patience broke, and she picked up her scooter before taking off, tears starting to trickle down her face as she raced away. She heard Apple Bloom shout something, but was unaware of what she said as she raced down the road. As she did so, she felt something tickle her side as she passed a tree stump, but shrugged it off as she was still upset from Diamond’s comment. She tried over and over to fly, but she just didn’t know what she was doing wrong!
“Heads up, rogue cloud on the loose!” A voice cried out, and Scootaloo turned to her left only to see a cloud flying at her, a few weather-ponies following close behind it. Not able to stop, Scootaloo could only step on her scooter’s brakes, her forehooves stretching out to stop the cloud, though Scootaloo knew from past attempts that this wouldn’t work. However, as she waited for the lightning-charged cloud to hit with her eyes shut, she felt something fluffy hit her hooves. A few seconds passed before she opened her eyes, only to gape slightly when she saw the cloud in her hooves, the lightning discharging harmlessly into the ground.
“Thanks for the assist, kid,” A weather-pony said as she took the much calmer cloud from Scootaloo.
“You know, I haven’t seen someone discharge a cloud mere seconds after they caught it.” Scootaloo heard a second weather-pony say to a third as the three weather-ponies began to head off, “She must be a prodigy with weather-manipulating magic!” Scootaloo blinked in confusion at this.
“What does magic have to do with manipulating weather?” Scootaloo asked. This statement made the three weather-ponies stop, and the three shared a look before turning back to her.
“You really don’t know why magic is important for pegasi?!” The weather-pony in the center asked in disbelief.
“Didn’t your parents teach you how to use your magic?” A second weather-pony asked, and Scootaloo flinched slightly at the question before looking back at the three weather-ponies, a false smile on her face.
“N-no, it’s fine. Besides, I’ve got Rainbow Dash to help me learn how to fly!” she answered, but the weather-ponies noticed her hesitance to answer, and shared a look before turning back to Scootaloo.
“Look, squirt,” the ‘head’ weather-pony said, catching Scootaloo’s attention at the familiar nickname, “I know that Rainbow is a great flier, but… I don’t think that she’s the best pony to learn how to fly.”
“What are you saying?!” Scootaloo exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at the pegasus for insulting her mentor, “Rainbow Dash is a great flier!”
“I don’t disagree with you, squirt,” the pegasus said, “but that doesn’t mean that she’s a good teacher.” Scootaloo blinked in confusion at this. How could one be a great flier, but not a great teacher at the same time?
“As I said,” the lead weather-pony explained, “Rainbow Dash is a great flier, which is due to her being an excellent flier by instinct. As such, she is an excellent teacher… for advanced students. For those that have difficulty learning how to fly, such as yourself, she can’t teach as good, because she wouldn’t understand how to help them slowly learn how to fly. Simply put, she’s TOO much of a natural flyer to understand the problems of those who are not.” By the time the weather-pony finished speaking, Scootaloo was downcast, her eyes looking at the ground. Did this mean that she would never be able to fly?
“Don’t get me wrong, squirt,” the weather-pony said, and Scootaloo looked up at him in confusion as the pony continued to speak, “You can still learn from your idol more… once you’ve gotten the basics down. You just need to better learn how to channel your magic through your hooves and wings. From how you stopped that cloud, you definitely have more power than an average filly.”
“If you want, I can refer you to somepony who could help you,” the third weather-pony holding the cloud chimed in, and Scootaloo turned to him with wide and hopeful eyes.
“Really?” she asked with clear hope and desperation.
“Sure,” the weather-pony said, “Just head to Town Center around 4PM, and look for somepony named ‘Bulk Biceps’, though he’ll also respond to ‘Snowflake’. You shouldn’t miss him, though; His build can help him be considered the most muscular pegasus in all of Ponyville.”
“ThankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!!!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she rushed forward and enveloped the pegasus in a hug.
“It’s quite alright,” the pegasus said as she removed herself from the filly’s grasp.
“Scootaloo!” A duo of familiar voices shouted, and said pony turned to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle running towards her.
“Hey Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo greeted as she turned fully to face the two.
“Are you alright, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked, concern evident on her face as she put a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder.
“I’m fine,” Scootaloo said, then blinked before turning towards town, her eyes widening as she remembered the original reason they had entered the town in the first place. “Come on!” she exclaimed, getting back on her scooter, “We need to get to Twilight’s before she’s gone.” At this, she gave one last wave to the weather-ponies before heading off at a slower rate than before, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle running alongside her.
Fifteen minutes later, the three fillies were standing outside of the tree-based library that Twilight lived in. The three Crusaders shared a look, each seeing if the others wanted to quit before Sweetie Belle knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Spike, a scroll clasped in his left claw.
“Oh, hey, Sweetie Belle,” Spike said, opening the door wider to let them in, “What brought you over?”
“Well, we found these masks earlier,” Sweetie Belle said as she entered the house and held up the mask with her hoof, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo following suit, “And we were hoping that Twilight would know what they were.” Upon seeing the masks, Spike’s eyes widened before he quickly closed the door, then led them over to another door.
“She’s right downstairs,” Spike said, then opened the door before racing down, shouting at the time, “Twilight! The Crusaders found three Kanohi!!”
“What?!” Twilight’s voice exclaimed, the volume of the shout causing for the house to shake slightly, a few books falling off of the shelves. The three fillies flinched slightly at the tone, but continued downstairs nonetheless. As they descended, they noticed several apparati that they couldn’t begin to understand the usage of scattered about the room. As they reached the bottom, they noticed Twilight waiting for them, her eyes focusing on them as the three Crusaders came into her view.
“Did you really find some?” Twilight asked as she trotted over to the three fillies, a slightly maniacal glint entering her eyes, “Did you really find some Kanohi?”
“W-we didn’t find any ‘Kahn-oh-he’, Twilight,” Apple Bloom said, but held up the mask she had found with the others holding up their own masks, “But we did find these masks, and we were hoping that you would know what they were.”
“But these masks are Kanohi,” Twilight replied, grabbing Apple Bloom’s mask and setting it on the table, sweeping off a case with more fleshy masks in a wooden case off of the table in the process. “‘Kanohi’,” Twilight explained, “is apparently the word used to describe these Great Masks of Power from the reality of Bionicle, from what the Princesses informed me.” The three fillies blinked at this. Masks of Power?
As Twilight continued to lecture, Apple Bloom snuck her ‘Kanohi’ from the table and looked at other two. “So, should we put them on?” Apple Bloom asked the other two Crusaders.
“Why not?” Sweetie Belle said, “It couldn’t hurt.”
“We might even get our Cutie Marks from this!” Scootaloo chimed in, and the three shared a grin before donning the masks. As Scootaloo put her mask on, she noticed that the mask felt off. Something was… odd… about the mask as she bit down on the mouthpiece. Maybe it had been the fact that it felt as though it conformed to her face when she put it on, but she shrugged it off as being from another reality.
“...But ponies shouldn’t put on the Kanohi, because the Kanohi’s powers can’t be controlled, considering that it can be permanently activated, albeit with fluctuating power, by one’s Cutie Mark.” Twilight finished, then opened her eyes only to freeze when she saw the three Crusaders wearing the masks. “What…” She said slowly, her face becoming a grimace with a hysterical look growing in her eyes, “did you just do?!?”
“Well,” Apple Bloom replied, a sheepish look on her face, “we thought that if we put on the masks after you said they were ‘Masks of Power’, that it would help us get our Cutie Marks!” Twilight’s face grew angrier at this answer, which showed on her face for a few seconds, before she let out a huff and rolled her eyes, though fear was still evident in her eyes.
“Well, it isn’t that bad,” Twilight said, though it sounded more like she was trying to calm herself rather than to calm the Crusaders, “Since you don’t have Cutie Marks, then that means that the Kanohi won’t activate… I hope...” The Crusaders shared a look at this before turning back to Twilight.
“You can remove them, right Twilight?” Scootaloo asked.
Twilight paused for a few seconds, before giving them one of her ‘I’m-not-sure-but-I’ll try my best’ smile and saying, “Of course I can!” she then turned to Sweetie Belle and muttered to herself, “Just give me a minute,” before focusing her magic on the mask adorning Sweetie Belle, her horn alight with the violet aura her magic had. However, while it appeared on the mask for a second, it was soon dispelled, the violet-colored magic flying away from the mask before settling a few inches away from the mask itself.
“What?” Twilight said with slight disbelief and ended the spell, the violet aura disappearing instantly. “This doesn’t make any sense,” she said as she walked over to Sweetie Belle and put her hooves on the mask, “No known material can negate magic. It’s against all known laws of physics!” When she started to pull, though, Sweetie Belle let out a sharp cry of pain, making Twilight let go of the mask instantly.
“That hurt,” Sweetie Belle said as she put her hoof on the mask, only to pull away after she touched it, shock and fear written on her face as she exclaimed, “Why can I feel my hoof through the mask?!” As Twilight got closer, Sweetie Belle drew back, muttering in panic, “Leave me alone, leave me alone.” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked on in fear and mild panic as Twilight put her hoof on Sweetie Belle’s mask, causing for the unicorn filly’s eyes to snap open and for Sweetie Belle to let out a scream, her mask flaring a dirty gold for a second before a wave of… something… flew out of Sweetie Belle. As the wave passed over Scootaloo, she felt it tug at something and, for a split second, saw herself from behind before snapping back to her normal view, her legs falling out from underneath her as it did so.
“W-what happened?” Apple Bloom asked as she looked around, her eyes slightly unfocused as she regained control of her body.
“I’m not sure,” Scootaloo said as she looked around, blowing her mane out of her face as she did so, only to stop as she saw what had happened. Starting from where Sweetie Belle was standing with a horrified look on her face, the energy wave had blasted away EVERYTHING. The ground around her was a crater. All of Twilight’s various devices were pushed away, even the large ones. There was even a circular indent upon the basement’s ceiling. However, the most noticeable impact was the potted fern that had sat on Twilight’s table. Where it had once been thriving, the plant was now brown and obviously lacking of life near the center of the blast radius, the pot tipped over and strewn on the ground from the blast.
“What… did that Kanohi DO?” Scootaloo heard Twilight say, and she looked towards Twilight, the unicorn finally regaining consciousness. Twilight looked around for a few seconds before starting to take stock of the damages. “How could this happen?” She asked herself, circling around a few times before stopping, a thought seeming to strike her, and turned towards Sweetie Belle.
“When the mask activated,” Twilight said, her mind connecting each point, “it had blasted everything away. Not only that, but it had barely left my plant alive. But a ‘blasting’ power couldn’t leave something on the brink of death without harming it… Unless the mask power isn’t ‘blasting’! But what would it be…”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she thought over what it could be, only to stop when she blew her mane out of her face. She touched her mane with her right hoof, confusion evident on her face about it for some reason. “My mane wasn’t this long at the start of the day…” Twilight noted, “At least, it wasn’t until…” A second thought struck her, and she looked at both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo for a few seconds. “Did either of you experience an out-of-body experience?” Twilight asked them, and both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shared a look before tentatively nodding, causing for their manes to fall in front of their faces. With this noted, Twilight picked up a quill and some parchment, dabbing the quill in some ink spilled on the ground, before writing down all that she had found.
Their comments, along with the soothing scritch scratch of quill on paper seemed to snap Sweetie Belle from her shock… though only partially, as she slowly turned her head, taking in the damages she caused with wide eyes as Twilight continued her examination.
“Let’s see now…” Twilight listed, “Creating a crater, knocks everything away, can cause out-of-body experiences, can even cause for aging or loss of life…” she stared at the list for a few minutes before letting out a groan and exclaimed, “What do these have in common? The answer just seems to keep being repelled from-” She stopped as the last thought for the puzzle fit into place. “It’s repulsion…” she eventually said, the dots rapidly connecting, “When the mask activated, it created a wave of repulsion, repelling the objects on the tables, repelling the ground, though only slightly, and even... repelling souls and life force, causing for the aging of others and the separation of body and soul. It’s also probably why I couldn’t take the mask off, since it was repelling my magic.” With this last realization, she turned to Sweetie Belle, a smile on her face, only to stop when she saw Sweetie Belle on the verge of tears.
“Y-you mean that I’ll force everypony away because of this hideous mask?” Sweetie Belle whimpered before running away, tears starting to fall down as she ran up the stairs.
“Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom said, and started to run after her. Scootaloo could only see Twilight’s horn light up for a second before the mask on Apple Bloom’s face was alight in Twilight’s aura. “OW!” Apple Bloom cried out as she was flipped over, but the mask’s power was soon shown as Apple Bloom lashed out in pain, her hooves instantly destroying the support beams for the staircase.
“What’s going on?” Spike asked, stepping down the staircase as he did so. However, since Apple Bloom destroyed the support beams, Spike was only able to hold on for a second before falling off the collapsing staircase. This caused for the young dragon to land on Apple Bloom’s back, making the filly strike the ground in surprise and send shards of rock flying in all directions. As Scootaloo saw the large chunks of rock fly at her, she drew back in fear and shut her eyes, expecting for the rocks to cut into her.
A few seconds passed before she tentatively opened eyes, only to realize that the rocks had missed her… and her hooves that were covering her face were alight with a strange blue color - the same color as her mask. While she was unscathed, though, the same could not be said for the others: Apple Bloom was thankfully unharmed, but Twilight had received more than a few scratches from the ordeal, a large gash cutting through her left leg while her hoof was also bent at an awkward angle as Twilight laid on her side. Spike wasn’t as badly hurt in comparison, but the strangely hoof-shaped bruise on his head would certainly hurt when he regained consciousness.
“What happened?” Scootaloo heard Apple Bloom say, and she looked back at Apple Bloom to see her come out of her self-induced panic attack.
“I think your mask power might be Strength,” Scootaloo pointed out as she looked at the damage Apple Bloom caused. Then, the two shared a look before turning towards the door, the staircase leading up to it in shambles.
“Sweetie Belle!” They exclaimed, and the two began to climb up the staircase’s remains. As they reached half-way, though, the staircase began to shake, pieces falling off of the stairs as they stood stiff from the unstable structure.
“Jump!” Apple Bloom shouted, then leaped forwards, the stairs underneath her shattering into tiny bits as she leapt over Scootaloo and landed in the door’s entryway. However, this sets off the rest of the staircase, which starts to crumble around Scootaloo. “Come on, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom shouted. As Scootaloo prepared to jump, several pieces of debris floated up while enveloped in a purple aura.
Looking back to the lower level, she saw Twilight trying, and nearly failing, to create a bridge so Scootaloo could get to the door. However, from the look of pain on her face, it was very taxing on her, and Scootaloo had to move before Twilight lost concentration. As she hesitantly prepared for the leap, though, she felt her mask begin to activate before a cry of pain went out, causing for the debris to rush up and breaking off the ledge she was on. Scootaloo let out a shriek as the dislodged ledge fell, only to stop as the descent came to an abrupt halt. Looking tentatively back, she saw the edge of the ledge had lodged itself in the wall.
Scootaloo let out a sigh, relieved that she had stopped falling, only for her breath to hitch as a sharp crack shook through the air. Looking back, she saw that the ledge was starting to splinter, a large crack developing in the rock. A second crack rang out before the ledge began to dip precariously, Scootaloo sliding off the ledge. Panicking, she tried to scramble up the ledge but ultimately failed, slipping off of the ledge and landing on a larger chunk of debris. With one final crack, the ledge broke off and fell, the falling ledge dropping down while a smaller portion flew up and struck another piece of debris, disrupting it from the spell holding it up. This ultimately had the rock falling on the debris before flinging Scootaloo flying up and at Apple Bloom, the two fillies crashing together and being sent rolling back.
“Owww,” Scootaloo said as she got back up, rubbing her shoulder from where a bruise was starting to develop.
“That sure was lucky,” Apple Bloom said as she sat up, then looked at the basement door before looking at Scootaloo, or rather, Scootaloo’s face area, before continuing with, “too lucky.”
It took a bit for Scootaloo to realize what Apple Bloom was getting at, before letting out a gasp. “You think that my mask power gives me luck?”
“Well, it certainly seems like it, given that you’ve survived several times without a scratch,” Apple Bloom commented.
“Point taken,” Scootaloo said, then looked back and forth between the main exit, which was now a hole with the door strewn on the ground, and the basement door not that far from it, let alone the damages to the main foyer of the library. ...Spike would be spending days, if not weeks, cleaning the mess. “So, should we get Twilight help first, or go after Sweetie Belle?”
“Perhaps we could tell somepony to get a nurse while we find Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said. As they prepared to leave, though, they were halted as a familiar voice rang out.
“Ah, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo!” Rarity said as she entered the library, then frowned at the fallen door before turning back to the two Crusaders and asking, “Have either of you seen Sweetie Belle? I haven’t seen her since this morning and… What is up with your masks?!”
“We can explain-” Apple Bloom began to say, but was interrupted by Rarity’s following comment.
“Why, these masks are too drab!” Rarity exclaimed.
“...Say wha’ now?” Apple Bloom deadpanned.
“You can’t be planning on wearing just those for Nightmare Night, are you? Especially with them clashing with your coats.” Rarity asked, then grabbed Scootaloo’s mask before saying, “If you’ll just let me take them for a few minutes…” Her thought process coming to a halt when she tried to remove the mask, only for Scootaloo to be pulled with it with a yelp of pain.
“What in Celestia?!” Rarity exclaimed, dropping Scootaloo in the process.
“Now, I know how Sweetie Belle felt when Twilight tried to remove her Kano-i-whatsit,” Scootaloo muttered as she rubbed her sore neck.
“What exactly do you mean about Sweetie Belle? She isn’t hurt, is she?” Rarity asked, concern evident in her voice.
“Well, she isn’t hurt herself...,” Scootaloo hesitantly said, “It’s more like we should be worried about those who will get hurt by the ‘Mask of Power’ she’s got stuck on. We only saw a small bit of its power, and well…” Scootaloo motioned her hoof over the damaged doorway, “See for yourself.”
“Goodness!” Rarity exclaimed as she raised a hoof to her mouth. gaping slightly at the damage at what she now realized was caused by her sister, but said, “But at least it’s controllable… Right?”
“Uhh… About that…” Scootaloo said, looking away from Rarity at this question. “From what we can understand, she… can’t. The most that she can do is hold it in until-” As she said this, a wrenching boom rang through the air, and the three looked behind to see a dust cloud rapidly expand outwards.
“Oh no…” Apple Bloom said as the three stared at the expanding cloud.
Scootaloo replied hesitantly, “...I think we found her…”
Alex’s POV
Alex swung up and out of the troll’s reach as the stone giant flew down, crashing into where Alex once was before launching back into the sky.
“That was too close,” Alex said as he landed on a nearby spire, then knelt to keep hidden for a few seconds. As he caught his breath, he noticed something abruptly rise up to his left. Turning to his left, he saw a dust cloud in the distance rapidly expand before collapsing, various objects being sent flying both into the woods and into the nearby village. Alex stared at the sphere of destruction for a few seconds, then closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
“That had better not be because of a Karzahni-damned Kanohi,” he muttered, only to freeze as a shadow grew over him.
“COME HERE, PUNY METAL MONKEY!” He heard the troll shout, and was barely able to avoid the troll as it swooped down, crushing the spire he had been hanging on in the process.
I better take care of that troll quick, or I’ll lose track of where the Kanohi went off!, Alex thought, then whipped his vine-axe at the troll, the blade lodging itself into the troll’s side before Alex was sent flying at the troll.
Scootaloo’s POV
“What in Celestia?!” Rarity exclaimed as she began to trot towards the blast, several ponies running from the blast.
“Sweetie must have released a big blast,” Apple Bloom whispered to Scootaloo.
“I only hope that nopony was hurt from the blast,” Scootaloo replied, then gasped as she remembered who was hurt. “Oh no! Twilight!” Turning to Rarity, she exclaimed, “Rarity, you need to get a doctor: Twilight and Spike are really injured!”
This statement drew Rarity’s attention away from the explosion, as she whipped around and asked, “How much is ‘really injured’?”
“I think it’s a mix between ‘unable to get up’ and ‘completely unconscious’,” Apple Bloom said in reply. Rarity flinched at this blunt reply, then gave a weak smile to the two fillies.
“I-I think that would certainly fit ‘really injured’,” Rarity stated, then turned in the direction of the hospital. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go get a doctor.” With that, she concentrated for a few seconds before teleporting away.
“Now, where do you think Sweetie Belle went to?” Apple Bloom asked once Rarity had teleported away.
“Well, if Sweetie Belle was over by Sweet Apple Acres,” Scootaloo mused, looking down at her hoof as she thought over Sweetie Belle’s location, “Then, it would only make sense for her to go to-”
“The CMC clubhouse!” They exclaimed as they came to the same conclusion.
“Let’s go!” Scootaloo said, and after grabbing her scooter, the two fillies set off to the clubhouse. As the two fillies got closer to the cloud though, they came to a stop as they saw the full scale of Sweetie Belle’s blast. Even though they had left the town only a few minutes ago, they were already at the edge of the crater, the edge stretching out on both sides to the edge of their sight, even though the dust cloud was still settling.
The two fillies shared a look, before slowly walking through the crater. As they passed through the crater, they noticed that there was no trees or shrubbery in the vicinity of the blast. This only made Scootaloo think that Apple Bloom was grateful the blast wasn’t any closer to Sweet Apple Acres. After what felt like a few minutes to cross it, though not as long as it took to reach the crater, they soon arrived at the clubhouse. Despite the fact that the door and curtains were closed, the light peeping through the cracks showed that somepony was inside.
“Sweetie Belle, you in there?” Scootaloo asked as she knocked on the door, Apple Bloom standing besides her.
“...go away…” A voice whispered, and Scootaloo paused for a second before pushing the door in. The inside of the clubhouse was the same as it had been beforehand, with the exception that only one candle flickered in the room, illuminating Sweetie Belle’s body as the filly unicorn was crouching in the far corner.
“Why didn’t you listen?” Sweetie Belle whispered as the other two drew closer, making Scootaloo freeze up and Apple Bloom even took an involuntary step back at this... before taking a deep breath as she proceeded towards her distraught friend and gave her a hug, Scootaloo hesitantly joining her shortly afterwards.
“Because we’re your friends, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom replied as she continued to hug Sweetie Belle, “Do you really think that we would give up on you because of a mask?”
“But I don’t want to hurt you!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, then threw the other two Crusaders off of her before curling into a ball, tears starting to stream down her face and the curves of the mask as she whispered in fear, “I don’t want any of you to die…” Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle in despair as her friend continued to weep. If there was only a way to help her…
Alex let out a sigh of relief as he looked down at the unconscious cave troll. It had taken some maneuvering, but he had managed to knock it out by having it fly into the wall. “Now, to remove the Kadin,” He said to himself as he put a hand to the mask attached the troll. After getting a good hold on the mask, he then gave a hearty tug. The mask fought against him for a second before it gave way, the mask rapidly shrinking to Alex’s size as he stumbled back in surprise.
“Well, that went well, at least,” Alex muttered out of self-reflection as he exited the cave, then took off the Mask of Healing so he could put on the Kadin. This transformation, however, caused for the Kanohi that Alex had been carrying to fall out, clattering on the ground in the process. Alex sighed at this in exasperation before starting to pick up the Kanohi strewn about. I really need a bag for these, he thought as he picked up the Volitak, then came to a stop as he held the Elda in his hands.
When the blast had happened earlier, he had hoped that it hadn’t been caused by a Kanohi. However, it wouldn’t hurt to check, he thought as he put on the Elda, the becoming-familiar sensation coursing through his body and transforming him in seconds. As he activated the Elda, though, he instantly felt the presence of not one, but THREE Kanohi in close proximity, with two on the move, making Alex wince from the strength of their presence.
“I guess that answers my question,” he said as he took a step towards the Kanohi, only to stop for a second as he realized a better choice for travel. Taking off the Elda, he caught the other Kanohi before they fell to the ground, before lifting the newly-acquired Kadin to his face. Alex paused for a second as he felt the Mask of Flight almost seem to pulse in his hand before slapping it on. Unlike the other masks, this one had no mouth piece, yet fit perfectly over his face as he put it on. As he transformed, he felt that his entire body felt as though it was falling asleep with a tingly feeling travelling throughout his body.
Once he had finished transforming, he took in a breath before letting it out. “Well, that certainly was different,” Alex said as he moved his lips, only to stop as he realized that he had lips. Raising his hand to his face, he felt the mask pulse in time to his heartbeat before letting out a chuckle.
“I guess when they say the Inika’s Kanohi was organic, they really meant organic,” he muttered as he took his hand away, then looked towards where he had detected the other Kanohi. Taking a deep breath, Alex took a step back before rushing forwards and jumping off the cliff. As the air rushed past him, he focused energy into the mask, making it glow for a second before his descent leveled off and rose into the air. This only lasted for a few seconds before he dipped again, but he eventually managed to stabilize the flight. From there, he had a short flight before he neared the edge of the town he had arrived in.
As Alex neared the town, he realized that he would be spotted by the others, and deactivated the Mask of Flight as he neared the ground… making the last few feet a sudden drop. Alex was sent from flying over the forest to tumbling into a mass of bushes, leaves being sent flying from his landing.
“Well, that could’ve certainly gone worse,” Alex muttered, extracting himself from the bushes before and righted himself, only to find himself staring at an oddly built treehouse, voices coming out of the treehouse. Alex stared at the treehouse in apprehension before slowly starting to back away. I know I promised Josh I would make amends with the ponies, he thought as he backed closer to the woods, but I’m still not ready to meet them yet. As he prepared to run, though, he heard crying come from the treehouse’s open door.
This made Alex stop in his steps, and he looked at the treehouse before letting out a sigh. “Me and my big heart,” he muttered to himself, then steeled his nerves before walking towards the treehouse. As he began to walk up the treehouse’s ramp, he heard the crying stop. “Hello?,” he tentatively asked as he stepped to the open doorway, “Is everything alri-” His question came to a halt as he saw the three small ponies in the building look at him, all three wearing the Pakari, the Mask of Possibilities, and a skull-based mask respectively. The last mask gave Alex pause, and he focused on the mask for a few seconds before realizing that it was some form of the Crast.
Alex stared at the three and the three ponies stared back at him for several seconds before Alex rubbed his forehead in irritation, stating that, “This day just gets better, doesn’t it?” This apparently snapped the three out of their stupor as Alex heard a shrill scream, making Alex stumble back before falling off the ramp, landing on his back in the process. Alex stared up from where he had landed for a few seconds, then chuckled slightly before jokingly exclaiming, raising his hand at the statement, “Curse you, Mask of Possibilities!” This caused for a gasp to come out of the treehouse, before the three small ponies’ heads to pop over the side of the ramp.
“You know what these are?” The white pony with the ‘modified’ Crast asked, then continued with hope in her voice, “Does that mean that you know how to take them off?”
“Well, I can certainly take them off,-” Alex began to say, but was cut off as the white unicorn let out a cry of joy and relief before jumping down and hugging him, thanking him profusely in the process. “However,” he asked, trying to sneak out of the unicorn’s grasp, “Might I ask as to why you put the Kanohi on in the first place?”
“Well, we heard that these masks are Masks of Power,” the orange pegasus said as she jumped off the ramp, the light-yellow pony shortly behind her, “So, we put them on thinking that we could get our Cutie Marks from them. However, that was before we knew that the masks would be so dangerous.”
Alex looked at the three before letting out a sigh. “That’s probably one of the biggest problems with that idea:” he said as he reached forward and grabbed the unicorn’s mask, his energy flowing into the mask into the process, “You shouldn't have a single tool be the center of your life.”
“But what about those who are specialists with something, such as stunt ponies or musicians?” The light-yellow pony asked, “They need a special tool to work.”
“True, but they are trained to use a tool, rather than relying on a single item that is irreplaceable.” Alex said as he pulled at the mask, removing the bone-white Crast from the white unicorn’s face in the process. “If you want to be successful,” he finished, reaching towards the Pakari on the light-yellow pony, “You should make it so your talents might require tools to work, but not so much that your talents become dependent on one tool.”
“I guess that makes sense,” the orange pegasus said as she looked on at Alex removing the Pakari from the light-yellow pony, then asked with doubt noticeable in her voice, “But what does that mean about my scooter, then?” Alex blinked in confusion at this for a second, before noticing the scooter propped against the treehouse’s base. It wasn’t complex, by any means: Just a bent blue wooden board with a handle and four wheels underneath. However, its worn state showed that it was frequently used, as given by the bent handlebar and the dented front wheels.
“While it is vital for your use, be it travel or tricks, it isn’t something that is needed for everything.” Alex said after a moment of thought, “After all, while you obviously use it frequently, as shown by how worn it is, it’s your skill and how much you’ve put into becoming an expert with it. It may become broken, and parts may need to be replaced, but its both the memories and your training that are the most important.” This answer surprised the three ponies before they gave him a shared smile, though the orange pegasus’s smile seemed a tad more shy than the others.
“Hey, mistah,” the light-yellow pony asked as Alex slipped the newly-acquired Kanohi under his arm, “I forgot tah ask, but what’s your name?”
“It’s Alex,” Alex said absentmindedly, then pointed at the three and asked, “And your names are?”
“Ah'm Apple Bloom!” The light-yellow pony exclaimed.
“I’m Sweetie Belle!” The unicorn stated.
“And I’m Scootaloo!” The orange pegasus exclaimed, “And we are-”
“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!!!” The three shouted, making Alex wince slightly at the volume, before the now-named Apple Bloom frowned at something.
“Alex… Alex…” She said in thought, making Alex tense in worry before Apple Bloom asked in slight panic, “Aren’t you the somepony who destroyed Ponyville Centre?” This caused for the others to become frightened.
Alex winced at this reminder before taking in a deep breath, exhaling a heavy sigh. “Yeah, about that,” Alex replied, “The thing is I... wasn’t exactly in control when that happened.”
“You mean like accidental magic?” Sweetie Belle asked, and, when looked at with a quirked eye, explained to him, “When unicorns first cast a spell that’s outside of levitation, they usually end up overpowering it, which can result in some crazy events happening.”
Alex nodded at this before replying with a hint of exasperation, “That’s basically what happened. Heck, I didn’t even know that I could, since I hadn’t been in that form for less than five minutes!”
The three ponies gasped at this statement, before Scootaloo asked with surprise, “This isn’t even your real form?”
Alex nodded while replying, “Yep. I don’t think that I have even been in human form for less than 20 minutes since I arrived in Equestria!”
“Hyu-mahn?” Apple Bloom asked, expressing each syllable as she said the word aloud.
“It’s the name of my natural species.” Alex said dismissively, becoming more and more nervous as time passed. Each second that passed was only one second longer before a pony that wasn’t as friendly showed up.
Alex’s fears were quickly confirmed, though, as a shout soon rang out from behind him, “Stop right there, you metal monkey!!” Turning towards the shout, he saw a familiar rainbow-hair pegasus charging straight at him with an enraged look on her face. As he prepared to jump aside, a shout of greeting reminded him of the three fillies standing behind him. Behind? Alex thought, before his eyes widened in fear when he realized that Rainbow Dash was most likely not going to turn in time. Goddamnit!, he thought as he stepped in front of Scootaloo and the others, crossing his arms in front of him mere seconds before Rainbow Dash rammed into him.
Considering that Alex was currently made of metal, he had suspected that he would have some resistance from the impact. However, he was still sent flying over the fillies’ heads and into a tree, his opponent being sent skidding back across the ground while the Kanohi he had taken off the Crusaders were sent scattering across the ground.
“Take that, you… you!” Rainbow shouted as she shakily stood up, stumbling in the process. Alex only let out a growl of irritation in reply as he pried himself from the tree.
I’m really starting to reconsider the deal at this point, Alex thought as he dropped painfully to the ground, his metallic body groaning from the strain of standing back up as his attacker continued to stumble around from the dizzying impact.
“Apple Bloom!” Another familiar voice cried out, and Alex blearily looked over to see the orange pony from earlier that day run over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. However, she wasn’t alone as she was accompanied by several other ponies, the most noticeable being a massive red pony who stood a full head above the rest.
“Applejack!” Apple Bloom called out as she ran over, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo following shortly behind her.
“That varmint didn’t hurt any of y’all, did he?” Applejack asked.
“Alex didn’t hurt us.” Apple Bloom began to explain, “He-”
“Good. Now, stand back, sugarcube,” Applejack interrupted before turning to Alex and exclaimed, “Did you think you could mosey into our town and just terrorize our fillies without us noticing?” Alex looked at the pony incredulously. He was the one terrorizing?
“But Applejack, he-” He heard Apple Bloom begin to say, but was cut off when the large red pony covered her mouth with her hoof and shook his head, the filly trying to escape from the hoof regardless. The other two Crusaders tried to speak up in Apple Bloom’s place, but were silenced by two other ponies.
“Yeah!” Rainbow exclaimed, now back on her feet, “You were standing over them with your weird mask-thingies before I rammed into you!” This caused for the rest of the ponies to start murmuring, sending Alex several glares in the process.
“OBJECTION!” Alex gruffly said, pointing at Rainbow Dash in the process.
“...What?” Rainbow Dash said, looking at Alex in confusion. She wasn’t the only one to do so, though: In fact, only Alex seemed to have gotten the reference, since everyone (everypony) else seemed to also look confused.
“Nevermind, you wouldn’t get it.” Alex said dismissively, before turning to face Applejack and saying, “While I do understand why you would lash out at me, I do believe that you should hear both sides of the story before making a decision. After all: You are the Element of Honesty, are you not?”
Applejack glared at him for this revelation, but conceded as the other ponies gave her varying looks. “Very well, then. Out with it.” She stated.
“Alright, then,” Alex said, looking around for the Kanohi that scattered from the ‘rainbow divebomb’. He quickly reached down to pick up the nearest Kanohi, which was the Krast, for an example, only for the red pony to take his hoof off of Apple Bloom’s mouth and stomped down on Alex’s hand, making Alex wince from the pressure generated by the stomp.
“Just. Talk.” The red pony growled, and Alex quickly nodded in agreement, though his temper was starting to build up again.
“Well, to start clarifying things, let’s go with the claim of me ‘terrorizing’ the Crusaders.” Alex said, then gestured to the Kanohi trapped under his hand and the red pony’s hoof. “I wasn’t terrorizing them,” he stated, “I was helping them by taking these masks off of them.”
“You mean to say that you were stealing from mah sister and her friends?!” Applejack angrily asked, making Alex feel the urge to face-palm.
“No,” Alex said, “I literally took the Kanohi off of them, because I’m the only one who can. But don’t take my word for it: Ask your sister yourself!” After a few seconds of thought, though, he let out a snort before saying, “Though you’ll probably not listen to whatever she says…”
“What was that?” Applejack exclaimed, stomping over until she was face-to-face to him.
“Look at your actions for the past few minutes:” Alex said, gesturing to Apple Bloom in the process, “You’ve ignored and interrupted your sister not once, but twice. If you had listened to her even the first time, this whole mess would’ve been cleared up. But nope: It seems that if the witness is a child, their word isn’t worth jack!”
By this point, Applejack was looking quite upset at this comment, a mixture of anger and sorrow flickering back and forth across her face before letting out a sigh, blasting Alex with the scent of apples. “Apple Bloom, is what the… Toa saying true?” She asked, turning to look at her sister, who was also upset yet happy that someone stood up for her.
“Alex is speaking the truth!” Apple Bloom confirmed, causing for the crowd to break into murmurs. “We were hoping to get Kanohi Cutie Marks from it, but...” As she remembered what happened, she stared down in despair at the damages their folly have wrought, especially to Twilight and Spike. Sweetie Belle began looking nervous when the trouble she had caused was brought up. Applejack gave Alex a look while he gave her a replying look that said ‘Point proven’.
“And what trouble could a little mask do?” She said as the red pony lessened the pressure on his hand, allowing for him to sneak his hand out with the Krast.
“Oh, these can do much more than you think,” Alex said as he stood up, and held up the Krast for emphasis. “Case in point, and the cause of the blast: The Kanohi Krast, as you can see here.”
“That’s the cause of the blast?” Applejack said, looking at the mask dubiously. “It doesn’t look like it could hurt a fly!” This only served to make Sweetie Belle more upset, her bottom lip starting to tremble.
“Perhaps it will become more clear when I say that the more common name for it is the Mask of Repulsion,” Alex said, making the gathered ponies look much more warily at the Kanohi. “As you could probably guess from it’s title,” He continued, “This mask repels things.”
“So, it can push things away!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, rolling her eyes at this statement, “What does that have to do with-”
“Ah-ah-ah,” Alex interjected, waving his finger at the pegasus, “There’s more than that!” As Rainbow Dash gave him a glare, Alex continued to say with a much more serious tone than before, “As I was saying, the Krast has the power to repel things. However, there is a reason it is known as one of the ‘Forbidden’ masks. That is because this mask can repel matter, energy, the light in one’s heart, even… life.” At this revelation, the ponies drew back in horror.
“If that’s true, then why should we trust you with it?” Applejack questioned Alex, her eyes narrowing at him in suspicion.
“There’s three reasons for that,” Alex countered, “One: I’m currently the only one who knows each mask’s powers and limits. Two: As a Toa, I can’t let others die, as part of the Toa Code. And three: Kanohi… aren’t compatible with ponies. At all.”
“What?!” The adult ponies cried out, though the Crusaders shared a look of sorrow.
“From what I can understand, though I don’t want to see if it’s true, the Kanohi is powered by magic, or at least it draws power from magic.”
“So?” Applejack asked.
“Aaand your cutie marks apparently create a constant stream of magic,” Alex continued. At this, some of the ponies realized what Alex was getting at and gasped, though the majority didn’t get Alex’s point.
“...I don’t get it,” Rainbow said, looking confused yet again.
“To put it in simpler terms,” Alex said exasperatedly, “If you have a cutie mark, any Kanohi you have on will activate at varying levels, never turning off and being stuck to your face until you die. So, if one of you put it on, your town would now be a crater and the site of a massacre.”
This statement caused for the ponies to set into a minor panic, each telling each other that they couldn’t imagine such an incident. However, this ended up being the breaking point for Sweetie Belle, as she bawled to the crowd, “I’M SORRY!!!!” This exclamation only drew everyone’s attention to the filly, Alex included, as she continued to wail, “I didn’t mean to cause all the damage! I w-was just wanting to get my cutie mark, and I… I...” This was the last Sweetie Belle could get out before she broke down fully, falling back on her haunches as she proceeded to cry, tears streaming down her face.
Alex looked at the bawling filly, let out a sigh, and began to walk over to the crying child. The other ponies gave him varying looks as he walked up to Sweetie Belle, put his hand on her head… and ruffled her hair, making the filly stop crying and look up in confusion. “I don’t blame you for what happened.” Alex said to Sweetie Belle, “After all, you didn’t know what would happen when you put on the mask. Heck, I’m actually glad that you were the one to have it on, rather than someone who had a cutie mark. If anything, you were able to minimize the damage, so you actually protected the others, in spite of the damages.” At the end of Alex’s pep talk, Sweetie Belle was now smiling, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sharing her joy and relief.
“Pfff, no matter,” Rainbow Dash said, “Next time you Crusaders are in trouble, just call on me to bail you out! Besides,” she continued, leering at Alex, “I remember that you wrecked the town with your earth powers!”
Alex’s mood soured near-instantly at this statement. “While I did unleash an earth attack, I didn’t have much choice in it’s form or direction, and was rather upset at the time, considering that you were insistent on turning me into a statue and have the town blast me into pieces.” The gathered unicorns who were in hearing range looked at least somewhat abashed at this reminder, but any protests were immediately cut off as Alex’s mood worsened. “However,” Alex coldly snapped, “That does not excuse you for what you did a few minutes ago.”
Rainbow looked confused for a second before glaring at him. “You mean when I charged at you?” she asked, “I can’t think of anything wrong with it.”
“That is what I’m getting at!” Alex barked, making Rainbow Dash jump at this, “You don’t think. Do you realize who was behind me when you charged me? The Crusaders you claim to protect!” This made Rainbow gulp as she realized what Alex was getting at.
“I-I would’ve gotten out of the way in time!” she said, though it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of it rather than Alex.
“And what if you didn’t?” Alex continued, “I was at least made of metal at the time. If you had hit me while I was human, I-” he stopped as he poked his chest, feeling an inward curve in his form. Looking down, he noticed a faint, but still noticeable, hoofmark on his chest. He dryly chuckled at this, making the ponies look at him in confusion, before he said, “I take back what I was going to say: I wouldn’t be a bloody pulp.” He leered at Rainbow before darkly stating, “I would be a smear on the ground.”
“T-that isn’t true!” Rainbow stammered, becoming more flustered as she took a step back, the other ponies looking at her in surprise at this revelation.
“And what of the Crusaders?” Alex snapped in reply, walking closer to her as she tried to step back, “Do you think they would’ve survived something an adult couldn’t? Do you think that they would’ve just bounced away from impact unharmed? An impact strong enough to damage PROTODERMIS? With just their FLESH AND BLOOD to protect them?! NO! If I had not interfered and took the impact...” At this, he pointed at Rainbow Dash, who had backed up against a tree, and boomed, “YOU, Rainbow Dash, would’ve KILLED the fillies you claimed to protect! Slaughtered in cold blood by your own hooves! All because you. Didn’t. Think!”
This revelation made Rainbow Dash recoil at what she might’ve done, her fur now an ice blue. “I-I wouldn’t do that…” she stammered out as she looked around frantically, the other ponies now looking at her with lighter coats than before, looks of horror on their faces.
“Would? Most likely not,” Alex said as he backed away from her, picking up the Pakari in the process. “Could, though?” He gave a dry chuckle, before turning back to the terrified pegasus and told her, “Oh, you most certainly could.”
..Though you don’t have to ‘be friends with’ them, I would like you to at least make peace with the ponies.
“‘Make peace with the ponies’, he says,” Alex muttered to himself as he picked up the Mask of Possibilities, then let out a snort. “If I have to make peace with you ponies,” he told them, looking over his shoulder at the crowd, “I think it best if I do so with a town that cares more for their young.” With that, he activated the Kadin and took off into the forest, leaving a crowd of confused and ashamed ponies behind him.
General POV
Several seconds passed after the ‘Toa’ had left before Applejack turned to face Rainbow Dash. “Dash,” she said, “I think it’s best if you go calm down somewhere else.”
“But-” Rainbow Dash started to interject, but stopped as Applejack gave her a hard look.
“Somewhere. Else,” she grounded out, and Rainbow looked back with sorrow and regret before flying off, disappearing out of sight in ten seconds. With the main conflict gone, the rest of the crowd dispersed, giving the Crusaders sympathetic looks as they left.
“A-Applejack?” a tiny voice said, and the earth pony looked down to see Scootaloo staring at her sadly. “Rainbow wouldn’t really kill somepony with her tricks, would she?”
Applejack looked at the filly before letting out a sigh. “I wish I could say ‘no’ and leave it at that, but… as much as I hate to admit it, that Toa did bring up several valid points.” As Scootaloo looked like she was about to cry, Applejack put her hoof under Scootaloo’s chin as said, “However, Ah’m certain that Rainbow would never do that intentionally. In fact, with what happened today, Ah’m sure that Rainbow Dash will be much more careful, so that this never happens again. Now, how about we go see if Twilight or Pinkie Pie has something to cheer you up?”
Applejack’s last sentence drew looks of surprise on the Crusader’s faces, which she instantly caught. “Alright, what did you three do?”
“Well, we…” Scootaloo said, hesitating for a minute before blurting out, “Might’veputTwilightandSpikeinthehospitalduetothemasks!”
Applejack looked at the three fillies before letting out a sigh. “Ah’m sure that you didn’t mean it,” she told them, making them sigh in relief that they weren’t in trouble. “However,” she continued, “Ah think that you should give Twilight an apology for what you did.” The Crusaders looked at her at her for a second before relenting.
“Alright, Applejack,” the Crusaders chorused, and Applejack gave them a smile before setting off. Thankfully, the hospital wasn’t too far away, so they arrived at the hospital rather quickly.
“Oh, hello, Applejack!” Nurse Redheart greeted as the four ponies entered the hospital, “You looking for Twilight, I assume?”
“Eyup,” Applejack said, and gestured to the abashed Crusaders, “That, plus mah sister and her friends owe her an apology.”
“Right this way, then,” Redheart said as she stepped out from behind the desk and walked down the hallway to the right, Applejack, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo following shortly behind.
“So, doc,” Applejack asked as they walked down the hallway, “What’s the status on Twilight?”
“Well, she’s thankfully not too injured, with only a dislocated ankle being the worst she has,” Redheart answered as she stopped in front of a door, “But if you want to find out, why don’t you ask her yourself?”
With that, Redheart pushed the door in, and the four visitors gasped, drawing Twilight’s attention from the letter she was writing.
“Twilight!” Applejack said as she entered the hospital room, wincing at the number of bruises on Twilight.
“Hey, Applejack,” Twilight, lifting a hoof in greeting before dropping it as pain shot through her, “Did you find Sweetie Belle?”
“Applebloom and Scootaloo did,” Applejack said, but then gave the three Crusaders a look before saying, “But Ah think that they need to say something to you.”
“We’re sorry!” The three fillies said as they leapt at Twilight and gave the injured unicorn a hug, only to hop off when Twilight let out a gasp of pain.
“It’s alright,” Twilight said as the Crusaders took a step back, “Redheart said that I should be healed up before tomorrow and able to join the picnic.” As she finished speaking, though, she noticed something on, or rather, off, the Crusaders. “Wait…” she said as she looked at the three Crusaders, “How’d you get your Kanohi off? Only the Toa should be able to...” Her mind realized what had happened when the words started to come from her mouth and the other four shared a look. “Alex is here?!” She exclaimed.
“Well, he was here.” Applejack said as she looked uneasy.
“What?” Twilight deadpanned. As Applejack recalled what had happened, with Applebloom and Scootaloo pointing out any mistakes, Twilight’s expression became more and more dire. Once Applejack finished explaining, Twilight put her face and her hooves and moaned, “Princess Celestia is going to fail me for this!”
“Ah doubt that she’ll be that mad at ya, Twilight,” Applejack told Twilight.
“But Celestia said that Alex was supposed to be staying here in Ponyville!” Twilight exclaimed, making Applejack rear back in surprise.
“What in tarnation are you talking about, Twilight?” Applejack asked, giving Twilight a queer look. Twilight looked at Applejack before grabbing her satchel and pulling out a letter with her magic.
“This morning, Princess Celestia sent me a letter telling me of a being called ‘Jaw Shoe Wa’ visited her and Princess Luna last night, and told her that there was several new threats, such as that which had arrived due to the villain that tricked and exiled Alex to Equestria,” Twilight began to explain.
“‘The villain’?” Applejack asked, “Why don’t you call him by his name: ‘Discord’?”
“Because, Discord wasn’t the one to bring him to Equestria,” Twilight told Applejack, “He only teleported him to us after sensing his arrival to our reality.”
“What?” Applejack asked in a deadpan tone.
“According to this ‘Jaw Shoe Wa’,” Twilight explained, “He had been exiled here by ‘The Merchant’, a multiversal trickster that has been toying with his species while they were at costumed based events throughout several versions of his world by giving them an item that goes with with their costume, only to banish them to a version of our Equestria while transforming them into the character they were dressed up as, with there being no way to return to ‘normal’.”
“But if that’s true,” Applejack countered while Twilight regained her breath, “Then why can Alex change in between forms?”
“To be honest, I’m not too sure, though I suspect that it has something to do with the being called ‘Mata Nui’,” Twilight said, before letting out a sigh and saying, “As such, Alex… Is the only one who knows of all these threats that we can trust.”
“What?!” Applejack yelped, “Why is that?”
“Well, considering that he was dressed up as one of the beings from that universe, he’s immediately the best source for the knowledge of any and all threats that come from the ‘leak’, be it Kanohi or ‘Raw He’,” Twilight answered, only to stop as she saw Applejack’s bug-eyed expression of disbelief.
“‘Leak’? ‘Raw He’?,” Applejack asked in confusion, “What in tarnation are you talking about, Twilight?”
Twilight blushed at Applejack’s comment, before telling Applejack, “Well, when Alex was sent here, a ‘leak’ was opened between our world and the fictional world Alex got his forms and powers from, thus dropping beings from that world into our own. This includes both the ‘Raw He’, which are various creatures from that world, and the ‘Bow Rock’ and Krana that we had seen earlier.”
“How bad are these ‘Raw He’?” Applejack questioned.
“I’m not sure, but that’s why we need Alex to help us.” Twilight commented.
“But then, why did he attack the town and destroy the town center?” Applejack pointed out.
“Well, put yourself in his shoes,” Twilight told Applejack, “If you ended up in an unknown area in the body of a fictional character you know, such as Daring Do, surrounded by beings you don’t recognize at all, and were threatened with being hurt, how would you react?”
“Ah guess you’ve got a point,” Applejack conceded, “Maybe we were a tad too harsh on him.”
“And that’s what I’ve failed!” Twilight exclaimed, falling back against the hospital bed, “We were supposed to fighting alongside of him, but he only ended up running away!”
As the two thought over what happened, the slam of a door drew them out of their thoughts. Looking over at the door, Twilight and Applejack saw that the Crusaders were no longer in the room, with the door shaking back and forth.
“...The town’ll know of Alex and his origins within the hour, won’t they?” Twilight asked.
“Hey! Mah sister isn’t a blabber!” Applejack interjected.
“That may be true for Applebloom,” Twilight said to her, “But can you honestly say that Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle won’t in their excitement?” Applejack looked away at this, only supporting Twilight’s statement. The two shared a look before Applejack raced out of the door, Twilight attempting to do the same before falling back in the bed as pain lanced through her body.
“I only hope that Applejack finds the Crusaders before they cause any more trouble,” Twilight sighed as she laid back in the bed, her thoughts filled with dread of the coming chaos.
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I think this chapter would be a bit better if you moved the section after Alex leaves to the next chapter, which is an interlude. Calling out Rainbow Dash was an extremely powerful note to end on, and having Twilight's visit come after it took away some of the impact.
6142081
I don't know... I kinda liked the way it ended.
Yes if he had ended it after Alex took Applejack and Rainbow Dash to task (something they both sorely needed) it would have had the punch you said he lost; but adding in Alex's true importance to his Equestria really hammered in how much Applejack and Rainbow Dash screwed up to me.
Don't get me wrong both ponies are among my top ten favorite ponies (Applejack is #3 while Rainbow is around #6-7, #1 is Best Pony Princess Luna) but both of them make me want to pull my hair out when they do certain things; Applejack ignoring her sister/CMC who were trying to tell her something important and Rainbow who acts first: thinks almost NEVER!!!
Wait a minute. There is something wrong here:
I got it! The problem is that this sentence is describing Diamond Tiara using magic to telekinetically pick up the dropped mask, but this is impossible because she is classified as an Earth Pony and can only pick things up with her hooves not with her mind. You might to fix this mistake dude.
6146956 its earth pony magic