Discord's Mask

by Recamen

Ch. 1

Zecora walked home under the canopy of the Everfree Forest, carrying a pair of saddlebags.

The bags contained a green pepper and several tomatoes - excellent ingredients for her vegetable chili dish. She needed to be wary of her footing, as she'd stayed a bit longer in Ponyville than she intended, and the woods were getting dark. Still, she knew the way home practically by heart. Straight ahead at the entrance, a slight left at the poison joke field, a right at the gnarled oak tree with the hollow stump, and she was almost there.

As she approached the doorway to her home, dug in the trunk of another large tree, she heard hoofsteps behind her. She tried to turn, and...

THUD.

--------

Zecora opened her eyes and groaned.

Zecora always rhymed when she spoke. Not all zebras did this, of course; it was simply a moray of the shaman, a way of connecting with the earth, the First Mother, oldest and wisest of all beings. All creatures were her small children, and she spoke to them through rhythm and rhyme in nature. The earth therefore spoke through Zecora.

"I appear to still have all my bones intact," she said to herself, indeed finding everything in place as she wiggled about, relieved to be alive and well. "But then, why attack me from my back? Surely, it was no monster who struck my head. Otherwise, I should be..."

She left the word hanging. The earth would understand. And in any case, she noticed that the front door to her house had been pushed ajar.

The zebra entered, her eyes scanning the one-room house. Strangely enough, everything seemed to be in place. None of her food appeared taken. Her vast collection of potions and salves remained untouched. Her masks...

Zecora's brow furrowed.

"No, they couldn't have... no one should have known," she added, trying to convince herself. "Surely not the mask for so far I roamed..."

No one should have known about it. No one should have ever even seen it. She'd spent all these years staying hidden, well away from prying eyes in the Everfree Forest. It had seemed strange to those Ponyville ponies at first... but she was also a shaman, and the forest certainly held a wide variety of plants and herbs with potent medicinal properties. She was successfully able to explain away her reason for living alone out in the wilderness in this manner, and had even won the trust and friendship of the ponies. She was glad she had. To have the mask is to be as good as alone.

"It is a mask of terrible power," she added fearfully, trotting toward a section of wall. "It calls out to wickedness with every hour. I may have hid it well to this very day... I pray it has not been taken away!"

--------

The earth pony had traveled far since her recent adventures in the forest. Knocking down that zebra had been easy; once she'd acquired the mask, teleporting to the distant land she now walked upon became much easier.

She crested a large hill, looking out over the land. Before her lay a small city, surrounded by a great wall. It sprawled about for miles and miles, and was far and away the largest structure on the plains before her. Few buildings appeared above the wall, and it might be difficult to tell if anything actually existed inside were it not for a massive clock tower rising up out of the center of the town. The pony could see the face of the clock itself, studded with red, blue, green, and yellow miniature crystals - fire, water, wind, and earth.

East for the griffons, the pony thought, eyeing the green crystals along the right-hand side of the clock. South for the zebras. North for the diamond dogs, and West for the ponies. The land of Mysidia, just as Daddy said!

And the masked creature thought:

Boy, how DUMB are they? Hee hee! Ponies are ponies, and diamond dogs are diamond dogs! They're like an apple and an orange, and they get along like they're all apples! That's silly. They're all silly!

It's just as Daddy said: 'If you want chaos done right, ya gotta do it yourself!'

--------

Two weeks passed.

Twilight Sparkle pulled back from her telescope, and bit her lip in anxiety.

"It's getting closer again, Spike," she said worriedly.

"Again? But you just looked last night," the small dragon replied, walking up beside her. Normally, at this hour, Spike would be sleeping. Normally, Spike would just brush this statement off as yet another bullet point on Twilight's massive Things To Worry About List. He loved Twilight as a brother, but really, this was the unicorn who spent an entire week worrying about some unforeseen disaster brought to her by her time-travelling self only to find that she'd caused herself a lot of unnecessary drama. However, whenever he looked through her telescope, he too could see the moon gradually becoming bigger and bigger. It bothered him, too.

"At first, the moon took up just the full view of my telescope. Then it no longer fit within the frame. Now I'm starting to make out small craters on the surface. There's no doubt about it, Spike. The moon's getting closer quickly and steadily. This is bad..."
The purple unicorn paced back and forth across the wooden floor, thinking. "When I first saw the moon growing in size, I sent a letter to Princess Luna asking about the size increase. I'd thought perhaps she'd planned something special. But when I received a reply, she insisted nothing was wrong, but her letter sounded... panicked."

"That whole letter smelled fishy to me," Spike said darkly. "You don't think she's, y'know..."

"Spike!" Twilight snapped. "With Celestia around, how could you even think that Luna's falling back into Nightmare Moon? She's gone, and she's not coming back." The unicorn sighed, and raised her front hooves up to a windowsill, the moonlight reflected back in her large purple eyes.

"But Celestia hasn't said much, herself," Spike added, coming to Twilight's side. "She just said 'I'll be back soon. Stay here and look after Ponyville'." Spike reflected that Celestia had chosen her words wisely. Something like 'Don't Panic' would have only made Twilight panic even more.

"But that was three days ago, Spike. What if something terrible has happened, and the Princesses needed to put a stop to it? And what if they didn't?"

"It's not like they solve everything at once," Spike replied, trying to be comforting, and failed.

"That's just it! Remember the Changeling queen? They couldn't at all tell she was coming until it was too late! I was there, Spike. I was there when I saw my own teacher beaten. I'm not a foal, Spike - the Princesses aren't invincible. What if something's causing the moon to drop, and the Princesses are either unable to determine what it is or are unable to beat it?"

"But if they can't stop it," Spike said nervously, "Who can?"

Twilight paused. Who, indeed? The princesses Luna and Celestia were beyond all doubt the most powerful ponies in all the realm. They were goddesses, wielders of the sun and moon, nigh unstoppable. Long ago, it was they who defeated Discord, the god of chaos, and claimed the throne as rightful rulers of Equestria. If not them, then who?

"...Me," she said, her jaw clenching in determination.

"But Twilight, this isn't just a matter of Discord or Nightmare Moon. We've got millions of tons of rock bearing down on us. It's not gonna understand harmony or chaos."

"Maybe not," said Twilight, turning away from the window at last. "But whatever's controlling it does. What we need to do is track it down and stop the controller - that should stop the moon from falling." I hope, she added mentally. "The Princesses may have had a clue as to where to search. If we can locate them, we shouldn't be far from locating the source."

"Maybe... but wherever they are, they're still alright. The sun and moon are still rising."
"I know," Twilight replied, smiling faintly. "I'm sorry, Spike. Sometimes my worries get the better of me."

"I've noticed."

"Spike!"

--------

Later that same evening, Twilight Sparkle gathered her friends together in her library-turned-treehouse.

Four ponies - Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy - gathered in a close circle. Twilight's horn glowed a faint, calm purple. Fluttershy and Applejack sat to either side of her, keeping the circle quiet. Two more ponies watched from the outside - Rainbow Dash flitting back and forth with impatience, Pinkie Pie bouncing everywhere. Spike, considered an honorary pony, looked on as well.

On the north side of the circle, Rarity closed her eyes, drifting into the silent realm of magic. At first, she could see nothing but blackness around her. This was not to be mistaken for darkness; if it were dark, she would be unable to see anything at all. But then a paper appeared before her, floating in the air.

My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,

I'll be back soon. Stay here and look after Ponyville.

~Princess Celestia

A simple, short letter. Nothing seemingly special about it. Not to a pony lacking Rarity's discerning eyes, at least.

"This ink..." her voice echoed into the void around her. "I've seen standard inks, multicolored inks, vanishing inks... nothing like this. Black is supposed to absorb all visible colors, but this one..." she peered closer with her mind's eye, seeing the truth. "The colors aren't absorbed. It's as though they coexist." On a microscopic level, she could see colors of all shades, jostling and jockeying for minuscule positions on the vast belt of ink. The effect vaguely reminded the unicorn of the busy city streets of Manehattan. The difference here was that it looked less that the colors fought one another for position and more that they danced and whirled around with one another. The effect was something of a gleaming, bejeweled, shifting mosaic.

"It's beautiful... but why use this ink?" Rarity drew back, and pondered. I once wanted to become royalty. After meeting Blueblood, I daresay there are much better alternatives. But I imagine there are still many out there who'd wish to become royalty. I'm not a foal; I know there are some who would stoop to... unscrupulous means to do so. I'd say it's a long shot with Princess Celestia, since no pony alive could match her beauty and grace... but then again, we've met the Princess many times. There are others who may not have had the privilege. Yes, that makes sense. She may use the ink as something special, intended to assure correspondents that she is indeed the writer.

Rarity nodded. The reasoning was sound. At least, it made sense to Rarity the fashionista.
"But are there no better reasons?" She asked herself. "Twilight's location spell depends on the item used. If we had a feather, or a bit of her celestial mane, we'd have no trouble tracking her down. As it stands, we're relying upon a letter written in ink. If we try this spell, and it turns out to be a bust... we may not have enough time for a second attempt."

She reread the letter.

"I'll be back soon. Stay here and look after Ponyville."

Was that all? Rarity's first thought had been to examine the details of the ink. It had been a good lead, but not a definitive one. She couldn't help but keep returning to that. "Hrrrrrmph! Blast it, Rarity! Your friends are depending on you to solve a problem requiring fine details, and all you can do is think about ink!" She growled angrily, feeling frustrated. Time was of the essence, and she just couldn't think of anything. Not the ink. Not the paper, which was perfectly ordinary. Not the letters...

Rarity's expression changed from anger to suspicion.

"The letters! Why didn't I see them before? The letter itself, you can read in an instant. But if you read the letters, they're all quite different. The first two words are written very stylishly, formally, as though from a very long time ago. But the end looks to be dealing with more present-day handwriting. A flowing message, from past to present... that's quite poetic."

Princess Celestia had lived for a thousand years, at least. She would know writing styles throughout the ages. But why change it so many times? I'm surprised Twilight hadn't noticed. Then again, I suppose she's accustomed to the Princess' writing.
She paused for another moment, pondering. She failed to notice that the blackness around her was beginning to fade into nothingness.

She peered once more deep into the ink, and saw the Truth.

--------

The spell broke, and Rarity opened her eyes to find a panting Twilight Sparkle facing her.
"...Anything?" Twilight managed after several seconds.

"Memories. She doesn't write with ink. I saw them, Twilight - a thousand years' of faithful students and friends. I saw you, too."

"Memories?" A voice loudly questioned to her left. "How can you write with memories?"
"Rainbow Dash, it's the Princess we're talking about. I'm sure she has a way," Rarity replied. "But she does it to remind herself every day of who she talks to, of the reader's place in her heart. I see it in her words. Twilight, I have no doubt this letter would link to Celestia. Only she could write it with such care."

Twilight was glad that her friends had answered her summons so quickly. Most of her friends tended to stay up late anyway - Rarity and Pinkie Pie were night owls, and Rainbow Dash, though virtually impossible to wake up once she clocked out for the night, normally had difficulty falling asleep at nights. Although Fluttershy and Applejack tended to follow the "early to bed, early to rise" philosophy, the former was a very light and easily startled sleeper, whereas the latter could be persuaded if her friends truly needed her presence.

"That's... great, Rarity," she managed, recovering her stamina. "Thank you." She gave the other unicorn a warm smile. "Finding an identity in a mundane item like a scroll can be a challenge, let alone determining if there can be a link to the owner. That's why I needed you to work with the spell. Now," she added pleasantly, "the tracking spell's much simpler. Spike, fetch the globe."

Spike turned to locate the library's replica of the world when he was stopped by an energetic "Ooh! Ooh! Twilight, I got this!", followed by Pinkie Pie removing a small, spinning globe from her bushy mane and gleefully handing it off to her friend. Nopony questioned how this act was possible. Pinkie Pie was all the explanation necessary.

"Oh! Thank you, Pinkie. Now then... it won't be exact for now, but this will give us Princess Celestia's general location. We can try for something more specific once we get close."

Now... find Princess Celestia, she thought as her glowing horn touched the letter. The parchment rustled for a few seconds before rolling up and floating upwards, pointing one end at a large country on the northern end of the globe.

"Mysidia," read Twilight. "To the northeast, across the Crystal Sea. They're in Mysidia."
"Across the ocean? That's awesome!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "I've been all over this country in no time, but I've never flown across the sea. What's over there?"

"Foreign parts?" Applejack asked warily. "I ain't crazy about foreign parts. What do they got that we ain't got?"

"I hear about that country from time to time," Fluttershy quietly spoke up. "Migrating birds will tell me about it," she added, seeing the looks of surprise on her friends' faces. "It's supposed to be a land with four crystals, one in each of the four directions - south, north, east, and west. They say each crystal represents one of the elements. Most of them prefer the lands to the east and south, holding the crystals of wind and earth."

"Wind and earth?" Twilight asked. "Hmm. I wonder if the other two might be fire and water. You see, everypony, we know of elements like Carbon and Oxygen today, but before we knew about those elements, ponies learned about the elements of alchemy - earth, fire, wind, and water. It was said that everything that existed stemmed from those four elements... did your birds add anything else, Fluttershy?"

"There's a lot of different creatures out there," Fluttershy replied. "There are zebras living in the swamps to the south, and griffons in the eastern canyons. They know ponies live among the western rivers and sea, and diamond dogs - oh, I think these are more pleasant dogs, Rarity - live in the northern mountains. There's also a great central city where they all gather. They also talk about a summer celebration sometimes, in honor of the four crystals. It sounds like it goes a long way back."

"A party? Say no more, Twilight! As a Pinkie Pie, it is my solemn duty to attend, crash, or otherwise brighten up parties all over the world!" Pinkie Pie swore.

"And if the Princesses have trouble going down, I want in on the action," Rainbow Dash said.

"Whoa there, both o' you. Ain't y'all forgettin' some things?" Applejack warned.

"She's right," Rarity chimed in. "Rainbow Dash, let's not forget you have a pet tortoise to be looking after now -- "

"Tank can totally fly that far with me," Rainbow said defensively.

"Dubious..." the unicorn replied skeptically. "And Pinkie Pie, what about the Cakes and their two foals? I -THOUGHT- you needed to babysit them tomorrow?"

Pinkie's face slowly deflated. "Oh, right... still," she added, her face beaming again, "It just means I get time to play with the babies!"

"Twilight, if what yer sayin' about that moon's true, then we may need t' think o' somethin'. Th' thing is..." Applejack paused. "Th' thing is, ah still don't get why we need t' rush in when th' Princesses're clearly still alright. If they weren't, we'd know."

"The sun wouldn't rise," Fluttershy noted, looking relieved. "Since it is, we don't need to do anything. That's good..."

"I wish it were that simple, girls, I really do," said Twilight, shaking her head. "But I've seen time and again that Princess Celestia can't solve all our problems, and she can be--"

"Yes, but who said it would just be one Princess? Luna will be with her," Rarity added.

"Maybe, but let's not forget..." Spike had at last found an opening. "They've been outsmarted before with those changeling weirdos. And before that, they couldn't do anything against Discord, other than give Twilight encouragement when she needed it most. Even the Princesses aren't perfect. Twi sees this. Can't you?"

Spike's words seemed to carry weight with his longtime crush. "I... well, when you put it that way, Spike, I see your point. Perhaps just a checkup would be in order. I must confess that after running around making all those dresses for the wedding I could use a change of scenery as well. Except, I would worry about leaving Opal behind."

"I think this is where I come in," Fluttershy added with a small smile.

"Thank you, darling. I am certainly in your debt."

"And I'm coming too!" Rainbow Dash called out. "You need ponies with--" she paused. "With muscle! And wingpower!"

"Speaking of wingpower, Canterlot's become quite a busy airship port over the past several months," Rarity chimed in, "and I have several important contacts in the city. I understand Fancypants owns some airships. I could ask if he'd be willing to do me a favor and grant us passage... although, I confess that I've no idea how I'm going to repay him. At the very least, he should direct us to a ship that would take us there."

"What about us?" Pinkie asked. "Once I'm done babysitting, I can catch up! I've got this neat idea for a super-fast, custard-powered rocket that--"

"That won't be necessary, Pinkie," Twilight added, chuckling. "Applejack, are you--?"

"Nah. Sounds t' me like a whole lotta hocus pocus is involved. Can't see how I'd be much help t' ye," she replied with a shrug. "Ya got Rainbow for beatin' stuff up, Rarity for whinin' at stuff 'til it gives up, an' you for, well, magic. Besides, I c'n help my folks out here."

"...Alright," said Twilight reluctantly. "Just promise me one thing: If I really, REALLY need you - any of you - would you be willing to drop what you're doing to help me?"

"Yes!" said Pinkie. "How?" The other two ponies asked in unison.

"There's a summoning spell. It takes several unicorns, and the subject has to be willing."

"If ya really need me? Then fine," said Applejack.

"Of course! Anytime after tomorrow. In fact, get me the day after tomorrow!" added Pinkie.

"Um... I, uh... that's really far, right? I..." but Fluttershy couldn't hold out against her friends' expectant faces. "Alright."

"Then it's settled." Twilight let the spell fade, and the scroll fell to the ground.
"And girls? Thank you."

Comments

[SouthernmostDogs]

M-majora's

Mask.

YES!

[sqarishoctagon]

Excellent! It's nice to see you post here!