Finding your way forward, in the Darkness
A small mare shivered in the old town hall, surrounded by hundreds of other bodies pressing in from all sides. She held her little colt close, watching as others argued over how to proceed. Griffons couldn't fly high enough to escape the spells. Diamond dogs couldn't dig through the enchanted earth. The unicorns couldn't dispell the effects either, some lingering effect on the wind preventing a true rally against the assault. The creatures outside, those shadows of what were once living things, and their masters had created a perfect trap. It was how they had stayed hidden, she'd heard a young dragon mutter. The town would disappear, and none would know the cause.
She whispered assurances she didn't feel to the squirming foal, letting her eyes roam to one of the most uncomfortable truths she'd learned. Several black bug ponies were muttering and shouting at one another, one scrabbling at the ground even as another told him it was useless. They were as trapped as the others. But one was not near them. One was separate, muttering to itself with tears running down its face. It opened its eyes again and looked about, eyes settling on the colt in her forelegs. She pulled him closer, worried it was thinking of a last meal before it began smiling. Then the chord sounded in her ears, and silence quickly fell over the gathered creatures. Then the words came.
They were alien to her ears, yet she knew them. Like Harmony itself was singing to them.
"Welcome and well met, my brave little spark.
How long you've wandered, burned bright as a star.
Oh I have long awaited you patiently, all this time."
Its eyes had changed. No longer did they hold the sorrowful slit pupils of the creatures nearby. They were brilliant blue irises, glowing with power she'd never seen in her life. Judging by how quickly the crowd moved away as the creature walked forward, she was not alone. The song continued, echoing through her very soul as he...she? neared the door. It walked outside, approaching the monsters without fear as the song built to a crescendo. Then, just as the first of the shadows reached it, the creature reared back and changed.
It was as though light itself had blessed the town with its presence.
A creature indescribable, as it was nothing else but Light in physical form. Flowing cloth, wings of purest white. And hovering just behind its head, a halo of brilliant blue crystals.
With a simple flick of its wrist, a blade of Crystalized light appeared in a slender claw. It raised the blade towards the sky, and as if answering its call, sunlight pierced the unnatural clouds.
The monsters recoiled in fear. The ones controlling them began shouting in their harsh tongue, but she couldnt make it out. All she could hear were the beautiful chords that seemed to echo throughout the town. Like the world itself was playing the most beautiful song, the song of hope. Of love, of life. And somehow the creatures around her knew it as well. It would be okay. Something had answered their prayers.
She jerked as the words reached her, once more alien, yet completely known to her heart.
"-and amidst it all a people. Beacons of light and life. Laughter that warmed my heart, like naught else before."
It looked back to them, smiling its reassuring smile before turning back to the death that awaited them all.
"They are my meaning and my purpose. My Love."
Then the creature, hovering just over the ground on wings of white light, leaned forward, its blade held back, and moved.
There was nothing to the transition between the dark and the now. It was merely a call to purpose. A call to once more raise up the blade. The faces were different, the threats new, but she was comfortable with the situation.
She'd been called to protect again. As she had innumerable times before.
Most would likely balk at such a request. It was supposed to be the end, all those years ago. Or had millennia passed? Was it ever thus at all? Perhaps it really was just a tale told to children. None of it truly mattered though. Not to her, nor to the hand that had reached for her. She had a moment to see even more, to hear the song of new lands as she moved amongst the void-spawned creations. She heard the hopes and dreams echoing in the breath of those behind her. She knew they were like her children, those she had dedicated lifetimes to guiding and watching over. It was a blessing, a gift unlooked for. And she would accept it as such.
She flowed through the creatures like a streak of light, most falling to mere aftershocks of her movement. Some were stronger. They required a strike of the blade, one that left two such beings stumbling about, both now falling to a simple destructive spell. Her power; it was not coming from the Host. The creature that called was not strong enough to support her power. It was the song of the land, asking for an answer. An answer she was providing. In return, it provided its song, lending its chord to her own hymn. The creature was merely a conduit.
Soon, what had been a perfect ambush collapsed. The overconfident masters of the shadows were fleeing in every direction. Spurred by her actions and the very air feeding them strength, others joined into to fray, as the not-quite-as-brave often do. They merely needed hope. A beacon to guide them forward, to prove to them that all was not lost. As the tide turned even more, she saw strange dragons breathing fire that sought the undead. She saw gleaming claws that shattered bones. She watched as armored hooves struck with speed and ferocity matched by her own champions since time forgotten. A people of hope. Those who cling to life with the tenacity that only the mortal may claim.
As the sounds of battle faded around her, she smiled at the victorious. There was life out there, life that had not given to despair. Life that the song of oblivion never reached. Or perhaps this was after? Or even before?
She looked into her core, to the slumbering creature inside. It was dreaming, remembering loved ones, listening to...her tale.
'A mask. That is what this is. A mask that was called in a time of despair.'
She settled upon the ground, separating it from her core and feeling herself beginning to lose coherence. As it woke, it stared at her with awe, with a familiarity that she wished she could claim. It knew her, knew of her story, of her loss and her victory, and it had shared it with the world in the most intimate way possible. Not a mere retelling of an old story, but by breathing life into it with his very being.
"The protection of others was always my calling, little one. Never fear calling out to me. For even one more life saved, even one more adventure experienced, it would be worth it."
"Hold this mask close to your heart. It... I will be waiting for your call. Should ever the need arise, the Light will always answer you. As will I."
<-(0)->
Celestia felt a shiver go down her spine as she read the latest report from Twilight on the changeling's abilities. She'd found, after some digging, the reports of an impossible creature that had shattered an attack on a small town outside her borders. Tales flew the gamut from a super-changeling queen that was out to conquer the world, to a hidden alliance between the two groups meant to put changelings into their good graces. Nothing further had happened though, leaving her ponies to file the anomaly as a one-time event and move on. Not even the descriptions could agree, as each being saw the creature's beauty in a different way.
Dragons insisted she was a being of the purest daimond. Griffons described wings of light that sheltered from evil. Ponies saw eyes that carried the love of a mother for her children. Minotaurs described a blade of purest crystal forged into an impossibly sharp edge the likes of which were not possible for mortal smiths.
One thing all accounts agreed on though were the eyes. Eyes of deepest glowing blue whose mere gaze assured you of her love for all life. Blue eyes that Twilight had detailed in her report and even included a small memory crystal of. Words weren't capable of describing that love, Twilight had told her. And she was right.
It wasn't something the changeling would be able to do on a whim, though. According to all the reports and even his own word, he'd heard the very magic of the world calling. It was something the sisters had heard several times in their reign. A call to action. The assurance that Harmony itself had its hoof on your side of the scales. You merely needed to ask.
"If nothing else, it should finally put to rest the complaints of the arch-mages."
Celestia looked up, broken from her thoughts and seeing her sister reading the report.
"It takes love to be able to touch Harmony. Love of self, love of others, and love of life. This creature, the one he 'called', it is an embodiment of love, similar to Harmony itself. I do not think such a creature would willingly allow an evil creature to maintain access to such a bond. Instead, he speaks of her like a mother. And that she assured him she would be willing to answer his call again."
"I had no idea they were capable of such." Celestia whispered. "How many heroes were changelings? How many of those stories of a hero being in multiple places were changelings channeling the mask to greater effect?"
Luna pondered the question before shrugging her wings.
"Does it truly matter? According to the young changeling, delving so deeply into the mask is to invite the possibility of being unable to remove it. For all that it matters, the changeling becomes the hero they seek to embody."
The white alicorn nodded slowly, her thoughts moving through the archive-like memories.
"Did you ever wonder...if maybe at one point we..."
Luna smiled, looking at her as the dark alicorn set the papers onto the desk.
"Would it matter if I was?"
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No fucking way, did you just come through with the mask story as another chapter? I don't know if you planned this from the start or if it was a spur-of-the-moment response to the interest, but good show!
"Would it matter if I was?"
A ship is repaired, piece by piece: bow, mast, sails, rudder, hull, cabins; parts are moved around, 2 masts, then 4, then 3, a raised poop, and a shallowed bottom; ballistae are replaced with catapults, then with scorpions.
But he one thing that never changes is the name.
Is it still the same ship?
My bet is Hydaelyn/Venat.
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I've been trying to get back into writing for a while now. I want to finish Substitute, but i also don't want to not do anything else until then. I tried that already and it basically killed my writing drive. As for the second, well, it this was all written today. I've had the mask idea floating around in my head for weeks now but haven't actually written anything until a discord convo last night got me back into a few old MLP fan songs.
11485041
type those words into google and you'll get your answer.
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Honestly this was more of a call-back to an old "X is a changeling" story than the Ship of Theseus. Almost went with the "We were?" but it wouldn't be as strong of a tie-in.
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Well, here's hoping that your muse is bountiful, whatever you're writing.
Also, go update your goals already, you can cross off that "1,000 followers" entry at the very least
.
You know, they should sell clockwork dolls of that pony from the report. Call it "Wind-up Herois" or something, I dunno.
The word 'maskerade' makes my Spellcheck Sense tingle...
Isn't the title supposed to be spelled with a 'qu'? Or did you spell it like that on purpose? I haven't read the chapter so idk
11485246
Which words?
Holy shit! So great to see some new stuff from you~ Glad to see you're still kicking!
So glad to see more of this!! Thank you.
Funny, considering I *just* got the the main reference in question for my daily roulette today. What a character indeed to be lost in...
Anyways, beyond elated to see more from you, in any form. This was a treat to read through!
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Any line right after blue eyes appear. Heck, even the song lines would get you your answer.
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Done on porpoise, honestly.
HEYO glad to see you're still writing!
That was a beautiful read. So glad to have you back.
Ok, I have to know, and I can’t find it in the comments, who Is that?
This was a nice homage to Hydaelyn. Kind of a shame he'll only put on that mask as a last resort, I'd have liked to see her meet the ponies. Maybe in a more innocuous form, like a pony version of Venat.
All right so I absolutely love this story the concept of losing yourself to the mask is both absolutely interesting and utterly terrifying but I just love how this story is going story is going and I can't wait for the next one.
Fascinating.
Your alive!?