The Mask of Despair and the Face of Hope

by Wings of Black Glass

Everything's on the Table

I rushed back to the castle, flying as hard as I could. Where was Sable? He was nowhere in sight; I left his silver mask back at the ruins of his hovel. The castle came into view, there were flashing lights in the map room, the front door was shut. Spike wasn’t outside where I left him, Starlight Glimmer wasn’t visible either, they must have been inside. I landed in front of the door and used my magic to fling it open. Or I tried to, they were sealed shut, resisting me.

I didn’t have time for this and just teleported inside. I blinked upon reappearing outside when my spell failed, someone set up a block against teleportation? Fine then, brute force it was. I ripped the doors off their hinges and flung them to the ground outside. Spike was curled up on the floor, grasping at his head, it was a good thing I didn’t blast the doors open, or he could have been hurt.

“Spike, are you alright?” I rushed to my sidekick’s side, but he was mostly unresponsive, although he was breathing and mumbled incoherently. Something rumbled from elsewhere, and the air seemed to shake with the power in the air. A familiar electric charge stood my hairs on end. What was going on?

I stampeded into the next room and stumbled right into a large crystal blocking my way. I blinked and backed up, there was something inside it. It was Starlight Glimmer, trapped by the spell Glimmer once used on me! She looked to be in pain, I broke the spell, and the crystal disintegrated harmlessly as Starlight Glimmer collapsed to the floor.

“Starlight! What happened here?” Glimmer looked up at me with worry, the pink Unicorn couldn’t seem to focus her eyes. I helped her stand.

“It’s that purple Unicorn.” Sable did this? “He attacked me.” She cringed. “Did something to my head, I can’t…” She stumbled again, and I stabilized her. “Gotta stop him.” She gestured with her head towards the map room. “I’ll be right behind you.” Last time I heard that… “Be careful, he’s smarter than I thought.” More dangerous at least. Could this be revenge for the party? I didn’t think he would go this far, and Starlight had nothing to do with it!

Now I charged into the map room, rebounding off a barrier in the doorway. He really didn’t want me getting in there. But the barrier was weak, and I broke through it with ease. Sable stood atop the map, his back towards me with wings spread wide, magic swirled around him with an ominous red aura.

“Sable!”

“You got back even faster than I expected.” He didn’t look back from whatever he was doing as he acknowledged my presence.

“Sable! What are you doing?!” I started to advance on him.

“Stay back!” lightning sparked out of the air around the table and struck the ground in front of me, there was a lot of power at work here.

“What did you do to Spike and Starlight?” I was livid, but he could still explain everything.

“Spike will be fine.” He continued his spellcasting, whatever he was doing was incredibly complicated. I could tell he was connecting his magic to the map’s. “I do apologize about Starlight Glimmer, but she had something I needed.” He did not explain further, still not looking back at me. I stepped closer “I said stay back!” A second barrier snapped into place around the map table, I hadn’t seen the magic circle on the floor. He must have been very desperate to set up so many defenses. “I sacrificed everything for this chance!”

“What do you mean?” I had a flash of understanding, the fire at Sable’s house was his own doing. “You burned your own home down?” He nodded, still not facing me. “Why?!” He did not answer, focused almost entirely on his spell. Enough of this. I teleported onto the table in front of him.

I blinked again in confusion as I materialized outside again. Re-directed? I didn’t know he knew how to do that. I flew back in through the wrecked door and the first few rooms, Spike was still curled up on the floor, Starlight appeared to be getting her second wind. The Unicorn gave me a confused look as I darted past.

“Sable, Stop this!” I stamped a hoof on the floor to get his attention. He still refused to face me.

“I can’t stop. Not now!” His mane started to float, powerful magic currents whipped his coat and tail around.

“I recognize that spell!” I looked over my shoulder at Starlight half-stumbling into the room and staring agape at Sable. “That's my spell! The one I used to go back in time!” That was bad, really really bad. “He’s doing something strange with it, changing it somehow.” In any other circumstance, I would be impressed, outright changing a spell in the action of casting it is no simple trick. I only knew a handful of other ponies capable of changing powerful magic on the fly like that, one of them was in this room with me, and the others were all Alicorns.

“Sable, stop!” I whipped back around to face Sable again. “You don’t know what you are doing! That spell is way beyond you.”

“I know.” Only now did he turn towards me, his body lifted off the table under the spell’s power, lightning danced out of his eyes. Something silver and red glinted off his chest. “That is why I stole this.” It was the Alicorn Amulet! And it just got worse, where did he even find it? The last time I saw it, Zecora had taken it to hide it in the Everfree forest where it wouldn’t be a threat to anypony ever again.

“Take it off, Sable! It’s dangerous!”

“I know what it does. I only need to cast one spell.” This had to stop, casting a time travel spell while under the influence of the amulet could only end in disaster. I jumped onto the table, smashing through his barrier, ready to take him down if I had to.

“You’re my friend, Sable! Please, don’t make me do this!”

“Get back!” He grew more desperate, his spell wavered, he might have been losing control. His voice droped to a whisper, I could barely hear him. “No one has to die because of me.” I hesitated, just for an instant, and it was too late. The spell completed, the power gathering around him rushed into his body. He screamed, roared in pain, arching his back in agony. Something was very wrong with his magic. His wings twisted and shattered, forming a halo of glass shards about him. Lightning erupted from his eyes and mouth, uncontrolled and violent, burning lines across his face. The burns looked somehow familiar, as if I had seen the pattern before. More lightning lanced up from the table, burning into his flank where his mark should be.

The spell collapsed. For an instant I thought I could see a second figure where Sable floated, almost a shadow offset from where it should be. Then an arc of darkness, like the inverted corona of an eclipse, washed out from his body and enveloped us both. The shadow figure vanished, and everything exploded into light.

The force of the detonation flung me and Sable apart, he smashed through one of the thrones and against the castle wall, Starlight Glimmer managed to catch me with magic cushioning before I hit the opposite wall. Silence fell as the last rumblings of magic power began to fade. Glimmer’s face obscured my view, concern evident on her features.

“Are you alright, Twilight?” She helped me to stand.

“I’m alright, just shaken.” Static discharges sparked off the map for a moment; fortunately, it seemed to be undamaged, although I knew I would have to make a more thorough examination later. I couldn’t say the same about Sable, he wasn’t moving. Slowly, carefully, I approached the prone figure by the wall, bits of smashed chair littered the floor. There were small cracks in the stone wall where he hit. “Sable? Can you hear me?” The pony on the floor did not respond.

“After the stunt he just pulled, you’re still worried about him?” Starlight Glimmer sounded more than a little upset, I couldn’t really blame her for that.

“Of course I am, he’s my friend.” The injured Unicorn on the floor groaned and I returned my attention to him. Something the color of blackened charcoal sloughed off his body like a fine powder, I couldn’t tell what it was, and his coat dissolved into ash as he stirred. Slowly, confused and stiff, he turned over to face me. The marks previously burned into his face and body were gone, that was very strange. “Sable, are you hurt?” He blinked up at me, it was as if he didn’t recognize me.

“Sable? Who is that?” Now it was my turn to blink in confusion. I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes. “That’s… me? That's my name, isn’t it? Sable Stardust?”

Author's Note:

Part 2: Expanding Consequences Comes to an end.

Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

I landed in front of the door and use my magic to fling it open. Or I tried to, they were sealed shut, resisting me.