Masks

by Free2424

Chapter 5 - Risk

Why...? Why must people die?

---

The room was dark, pitch black, even. The curtains were closed, and the door was shut. I was sitting up against the back of a stone chair, a throne to be exact. The room behind me was large and spacious, with decor adorning its walls. But, I really didn't care what the room looked like: it was my sanctuary. A place where I could feel secure and comfortable. I was alone in the darkness; completely invisible to the outside. The only people who could find me were the people who knew me well enough to know where I am, or the people who live or have lived in the darkness.

In other words, just the way I like it when I'm depressed.

There's a simple explanation really: it was the day my mother died. It's amazing how close Judith's and Lea's mother died to mine. In fact, now that I think about it, there are many similarities between myself and the siblings, but I digress. Yup, that day marked the end of my happy thoughts and the start of painful memories.

Anyway, there I was, silently crying in the darkness, when a beam of light shined from behind the throne. "Hello?" a voice called out. "Is anybody in here?" There was a pause and I remained silent as the door eventually closed. I wasn't in the mood to see anyone, obviously, but they probably wanted something from me. Just as I was deciding to see what they wanted, the sound to hooves on stone echoed throughout the room. I mentally sighed and waited for the person to leave, not wanting them to see me completely wrecked with grief.

The sounds gradually got louder and louder. I was getting nervous that I would be found, until it stopped. I could tell they were staring directly at the throne; I stopped breathing to quiet myself further. Minutes passed and nothing moved. It felt like time had stopped. I closed my eyes wishing that they would go away, like a scared child hiding from "monsters." Some voice inside my head told me that they wouldn't find me in the dark, that I was safe. That did help, until the sounds resumed. I curled into a ball, hiding my face in my legs.

A pair of hooves stopped beside my curled form, and the silence was broken by a simple, "Art thou alright?" I turned my head slowly to the intruder, locking eyes with her. I thought about what had happened to me over the past few weeks— no, scratch that, my entire life.

"No, Luna, I'm n-not alright, I'm far from it," I started. "E-ever since I've been fifteen years old, my life has been complete shit. My mother and brother died, leaving me alone and confused. I barely restrained myself from killing myself to end my loneliness... and just when I thought I had pulled myself together, POOF! I end up in a world full of myths —that I know nothing about— and more alone than I could possibly imagine!" I paused, pinching the bridge of my nose and swallowing my sorrow, "A natural fear of humans is not knowing, so hopefully you can imagine how afraid I am right now. On second thought, why am I even telling you this?! I know nothing about you, other than your name and occupation!"

A moment passed before Luna sat down beside me. "We were born on the twenty-second of October," she stated, "and our favorite colour is green."

"Huh," I sniffed, "our birthdays are close; October seventeenth for me."

"And as for thy preferred colour?"

"..."

"Please tell us, we only wish to help."

"...Royal blue, and before you say anything, it's a coincidence."

Luna giggled, "Is that the real reason for our saving? Were thou enticed by our beauty?"

"You wish..." We continued like that for a good half an hour before I realized I needed to go with Lea to Vulkan.

I learnt a lot about Luna, we actually have some things in common like, we both really suck at dancing. She told me about her childhood adventures with her sister, and in return I told her about my life as a musician and the many gigs I did while in university. Talking to her was refreshing, and I plan on doing it more in the future. However, like many good things, it came to an end when I had to leave.

---

"We're almost there!" Lea called back as we flew over a vast plain towards a massive volcano. I could see the huge city climbing the side of the volcano all the way to the lip, where a castle sat. Hopefully this will go smoothly... oh who the fuck am I kidding, something's gonna happen, I lamented.

We landed just outside the outskirts of the city and took a short break. "We need to wait here for an associate of mine to get us into the city unnoticed, so get comfortable," he explained.

I sat down and leaned against a nearby boulder, then began to check the equipment I'd brought. Let's see, I thought, taking out my supplies, the dagger is there —that's good— taking a sword and shield would be a great way to get me arrested. What else... ah, emergency toothpicks! I placed one in my mouth and immediately started to nibble on the end of it, That's better! I also should have my bow and a few arrows on my human form, just in case. I really hope it doesn't come to that... I put away the dagger and toothpicks and called out, "Hey Lea!" He turned to me, "I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up when it's time to move." He nodded in confirmation, and I dosed off.

...

...

*THUMP*

I groaned as I woke to the sight of rocks and pebbles. Damn, I must have fallen over in my sleep, I thought while pushing myself off the ground. I'm not going to get much sleep like this. I wonder how long this is going to take... "Hey, Lea, how long 'til this associate of yours gets here?" I called. The only answer I got was a cool breeze blowing by, "...Lea?" I got up and looked around to find that I was alone. Great! I'm alone right next to enemy territory! Thanks, Lea!

"Hey you!" a deep voice called out. I turned to see a rather scary looking —and fully armed— gray dragon marching towards me. He was about as tall as Lea, if not more, and was glaring at me with blood red eyes. Oh, here we go~! "What are you doing out here?" he said in a stern voice.

"..." oh god no, please no, not now! Please don't crap-out on me now brain!

"Well?"

"..." Say something for fuck's sake! "...napping."

"What?" he asked.

"I was napping, sir," I confirmed. Oh yea, like he's goi—

"Oh," he started scratching the back of his neck, "sorry. The king's put guard on high alert, so we need to investigate all suspicious activity," he explained.

That worked!? "Huh, is that so?" I questioned.

He rolled his eyes, "Yea, all he said was,—" he cleared his throat and said in a posh accent, "— 'a new threat has arisen against the dragon race.' Never said who or what it was..."

"And um," I started, "when did he say this?"

"A few weeks ago... you didn't know?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, uh... I'm not one for gossip, hehe..."

The dragon narrowed his eyes, "It's not gossip. The king outright announced it to the city."

Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck! "...Is that so?"

By now he was glaring at me, eyeing me head to toe. "I never got your name..." he stated, walking menacingly towards me.

I slowly started walking backwards, "I-isn't it rude to ask someones name without telling your own?"

"My name is Davion and I'm the Captain of the king's guard." Davion quickened his pace, and so did I.

"Oh, well, m-mister Davion, it was great meeting you, but would you look at the time! My friend, Lea, is waiting for me elsewhere. Good day!" I said, quickly turning around and walking away as fast as I could.

"Wait!" he ordered. "Did you just say 'Lea'?" I slapped a claw to my face, Dalton, you fucking— My thought was interrupted when I was suddenly tackled from behind and I quickly found a knife at my throat. "So," he started, "you're one of those spies I've been hearing so much about, huh? You don't look like much... I bet you found one of the letters Lea sent me and thought it was a good idea to tail me. Well guess what that bought you. A one-way ticket to Tartarus!"

"Wait! You're his associate!? Holy shit, this would have been a whole lot more convenient if Lea would have told me you're his associate!" I complained.

A few seconds passed before Davion asked, "You're his solution to the mask?"

"Yes, I am. Now, could you please get off of me?" I asked. We both got up and I wiped some dirt that had gotten on to me in the scuffle. "I came here with Lea to get explosives so that I could have access to a part of something that may be able to defeat Majora," I explained. That is if the masks can help against Majora.

"Who's Majora?" Davion asked.

"The mask," I bluntly replied.

"Okay? Where's Lea?"

"Believe me, if I knew, I wouldn't be here." I let out a large sigh, "Look, Lea probably found another way in, and knew you would come here to let me in. He might meet up with us later," I explained. Davion looked at me with unease and I groaned, "Look, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that we both want the same thing: to destroy Majora. Standing here isn't going to get anything done. So, could we please just go?"

Davion sighed and gave in, "Fine, follow me and stay close." As we walked, I managed to get a closer look at Davion. He was wearing a harness to carry his sword, kite shield, some small knives, and two pairs of really thick handcuffs. His main coat of scales were steel gray and the scales running up his back were dark red. Plus, he had way more muscle tone than either me or Lea. However, he lacked wings, which in retrospect is kinda weird because Lea, Judith, and myself have wings...

Anyway, we reached the city limits where there was a checkpoint. Davion turned to me, handcuffs in hand and said, "Here, put these on." I did as I was told and bound my wrists together. As we reached the checkpoint, the guards turned to us and saluted. "I'm bringing this one in for suspicious activities," Davion stated.

One of the guards let out a massive sigh, "Even the Captain has to do this mundane bullshit... All right, — " he tuned to me, " — what were you doing?"

I shrugged, "Napping."

"...Napping?" the guard confirmed. I nodded and he face-palmed, "Oh for the love of..." He shook his head and motioned for us to continue. Even the guard thinks the king's orders are unusual, I thought, Interesting... They must fear him if they're still working for him.

I took in the magnificent sights Vulkan as we walked. The streets were cobblestone, and the various buildings were stone. The city was built on the side of the of the volcano, so the walk to the castle — which was at the lip of the volcano — was mostly uphill. Think of it kinda like a stone shanty town, but more busy and crowded.

As we reached the castle gates, Davion took the cuffs off of me and said, "When we get inside, stick with me, or you'll be screwed. No one will question you if you're with me."

"Duly noted," I responded. "What happens if we run into the king?"

"We won't. He has a meeting with the griffon king."

"Good. Lead on!" I said. We walked through the gate and turned to the right and we walked through a garden. That's as much as I saw because we were walking pretty fast, almost jogging.

As we reached the back side of the castle, I saw a small, single-story building guarded by two guards in the corner of the grounds farthest from us. "There it is..." Davion said. "Any idea how to get inside?"

"Wait, you didn't come up with a plan before I got here?"

"All I was told to do was to let you in."

I slapped my claw to my face, "Oh for fuck's sake... can't we just walk in?"

"No, the king ordered that if anyone goes in without authorization, they should be considered a traitor."

I groaned, "All right, give me a sec." I looked at the armoury more closely. I noticed there was a small alleyway along the back and side of it. Perfect, I thought. "Actually, I might have a plan, but it involves you knocking out one of your guards."

"I'll do whatever it takes to bring back the real king!" he replied.

"Then when I give the signal, take out the guard on the left. But first I need to get into that alley." He walked me passed the guards and towards the entrance of the alley. Luckily, there was no one around except for the two guards, who didn't see us go into the alley. Davion leaned against the wall of the armoury as I carefully walked to the other side. I peeked around the corner to see the guard standing there.

All right, I thought, now for— ah! Here we go. I picked up a decent sized stone and threw it on the ground in front of me. I heard the guard murmur "huh?" before turning around and heading into the alley. I turned and motioned for Davion to knock out the other guard. He disappeared around the corner and I turned back to the guard coming towards me. I pressed my back up against the wall and waited.

Time seemed to slow down as I waited for the dragon to walk around the corner. I could hear his steps get closer and closer. It was almost time. Any second now... The guard's foot stepped out into my vision. As he took another step, I leaped on to him, wrapping my arm around his neck and squeezing as hard as I could. There were choking sounds and he desperately tried to get me to stop, but I didn't, and eventually he stopped moving. I let go and started to pant.

Tossing the guard off of me, I got up and dragged him over against the armoury wall. Davion came around the corner with the other guard and put him with his partner. We both made our way over to the entrance of the building and I opened the door, "I'll only be a second, but keep a look out, just in case."

I entered the armoury and was assaulted by the sight of weapons. Long swords, short swords, spears, halberds, crossbows and bolts, and bows and arrows were scattered around the room. There were also wooden crates buried beneath the weapons. The explosives would probably be in one of the crates, I thought. Starting with a crate at the back, I pushed the weapons off of the top and opened it: shields. Wrong one... Next! I repeated this pattern until I finally got the right one. Eventually, I came to a old looking crate. I opened it to find a dusty cloth covering what was inside. I held my breath and pulled the cloth off.

What I saw inside made me snort in amusement: A dozen small bowling ball sized, dark blue spheres that had a silver disk and rope on top of it. I should of seen that one coming from a mile away, I thought. I used the cloth to wrap the bombs up and slung it over my shoulder.

I was about to exit, but then... "...they were dead tired, so I relieved them," I heard Davion say. I put my ear to the door and listened, "Besides, it better than patrolling the outskirts. Right, your highness?"

Your highness!? "I don't care for guards who leave their post, however, even if he managed to get into the castle, he wouldn't stand a chance against me. I'm already far more powerful than he could possibly Imagine," a deep voice said. I looked around for something I could look through, but there wasn't anything big enough. "Good day, guard."

"Good day, sir," Davion replied. I put my claw on the doorknob, If I can just go now and catch him off guard, I can destroy the mask! I thought. But... can I really do this!? I'm not a hero... I'm just... some guy... I hesitated. That one moment turned into several minutes. ...no, there's to much at stake. If I fuck up now, it's all over! I need to plan my attack if I want to win!

I slowly opened the door and exited. "Lets go," I said abruptly.

"...What happened to you in there? You seem different than before..."

I paused, "I heard you and Majora talking."

He gave me a puzzled look, "You mean the king?"

"No. Judging by what he said, he's already completely controlled by Majora." We made it to the front of the castle. However, guards were gathering at the front gate. "And judging by all those guards, he knew I was in there. He's toying with me." I took the bombs off of my shoulder and leaned against the castle, using one claw to massage my temples. "Think, Dalton, think! How do we get out of here!?"

I can't alert the guards because I need to find Lea, so the gate is out of the question. I looked for any other escape roots. The castle wall is covered with guards, and the front of the gate is probably covered too. UUUUHHG! Fuck! FUCK! FUCK! If I don't get out of here, EVERYTHING I've done until now will be for nothing!

"Any Ideas?"

I glared at him, "Would you just —" I stopped. Davion was kneeling down behind a cart of stones.

Oh.

My.

Fucking.

God.

"Davion, you... the cart... genius!" I snuck over to him and started pulling the cart, "Help me with this."

"What? The cart? Why the cart?" he questioned.

I angled the cart with the gate, "On three, we're pushing the cart and jumping in before we become visible. If this works, we can jump out while it's still rolling. The guards won't see us, so they won't know who to look for. After that, we'll stash the bombs and look for Lea," I explained.

Davion gawked at me, "You realize you're insane, right?"

"Well, do you see any other way out?" I asked. He sighed and shook his head, "Good. Now then, on three..."

"One," we got ready to push. My heart started to race and adrenaline coursed through my body.

"Two," a insane smile swept on to my face.

"Three!" We pushed the the cart as hard as we could, sending it flying towards the gate.

I jumped into the cart and buried myself in the stones, concealing myself. It was only after I heard the guards yell in confusion and surprise that I realized, Wait, the entire city's on a mountain. So that means... The cart rolled out of the castle courtyard as I peeked out the top. ...Oh no...

We started rolling down the volcano at break-neck speeds. I hid back in the cart and started to count to ten. When I reached ten I yelled, "Jump!" and leaped off the left side of the cart. I hit the ground in a roll and immediately ran to the nearest alley with Davion in pursuit. We caught our breath while listening to the sounds of panicked yelling and a large crashing noise. When we were ready, we took off again to make sure that we weren't found.

As we wandered the back alley looking for Lea, I asked, "So, where do we start looking?"

Davion closed his eyes for a moment, "There's one place I can think of, however it's probably under surveillance."

"Better start there then," I said. Davion took the lead and we walked through the labyrinth of alleyways.

---

We got lost once or twice... maybe twelve times, but we eventually got to our destination. We stood behind a rather average, two-story stone house. There was a door and two windows, one large window on the second story and a small one next to the door, but that wasn't all. A guard leaned against the back of the building next to the door. "Damn..." I whispered to myself. I looked back at Davion, "Give me a sec, I got an idea."

I pumped my self up and ran at the guard. He stumbled in surprise, but quickly regained his footing. I stopped just in front of him, hunched over and panting severely. The guard began to ask if I was alright, but I cut him off, "A group— ah —of guys just tried— hah —to mug me!" I pointed off in the direction I came from and said,"They're down that street!" The guard affirmed that he would catch them and ran down the alleyway. I stood up straight and mumbled, "Idiot..."

Davion came out of the shadows and to my side. He looked at me and we nodded to each other, then I reached for the door. I opened the door and walked in, followed closely by Davion. We walked into a living room with two couches, a coffee table, and a fire place. However, the fireplace held no fire. Instead, there was a small fountain of lava heating the room. To our right was a door and further ahead was the entrance and a staircase. "I'll check the house, you stay here," Davion ordered.

I sighed, "Fine, but hurry up." Davion went to the stairs and gave me one last look. I rolled my eyes, "I'll be here when you get back. I'm not stupid enough to leave." With that, he ascended the stairs and I was left alone to do whatever I pleased. I walked over and knelt by the fireplace so that I could inspect it further. The lava seemed to come out of the wall and fall into a small pool in the base of the fireplace. Neat, I thought, I didn't think dragons had awesome stuff like this! I guess looks can be deceiving... well look who's talking.

*CRACK*

Without warning, something collided with the side of my head, shattering as it sent me flying. I reached for my dagger as I hit the ground belly first with a loud thud.

However as soon as I drew it, my assailant pinned my body and claw, taking it from my grasp. I struggled as much as I could to get onto my back, but it was futile.

"STOP!" a feminine voice cried. A few moments later, I felt the weight pinning me to the ground disappear. I immediately got to my feet and wound up to strike my opponent, but instead, I was greeted to the sight of a very confused Lea with a dagger in his claw and the lack of a certain coffee table.

My eye twitched as I furiously glared at Lea, who couldn't look me in the eye. "Er... sorry. I thought you were a guard," he apologised. My glare didn't lighten. Lea looked over to Davion, and they switched places.

As Davion came close he asked, "Are you alright?"

I turned my glare to him and was about to shout at him, but I realized something and got the most delightful idea. Davion must have realized this because he suddenly started to backed away. I asked in a very calm and respectful manner, "Does Judith know about Lea's girlfriend?" He blinked a couple of times, but eventually shook his head.

A sinister smile crept over my maw, Excellent, my hunch was right! Lea wouldn't go to anybody who he couldn't trust in the slightest, so it would be logical to assume that this woman is his girlfriend. I glanced back over to Lea, Soon, I will have my revenge... Very soon...

"Well! Since we're all back together, let's get going," Lea said.

"Lea," the dragoness warned, "be careful..."

"I give you my word that I will," he consoled. He leant down and locked his lips with hers, making me shake my head and walk through the back door.

I leaned against the back wall of the house, where the guard once stood. Davion soon followed me out and joined me. "Don't like that kind of stuff?" he asked.

It took a minute, but I eventually nodded my head, "Yea. Makes me feel alone..."

"I know what you mean," he empathized. "You know, I used to be jealous of him. He could have anything he wants. Gems, dragonesses, everything at the tips of his claws..." he sighed, "it must be awesome to be a prince."

"That's only because his father took the throne," I scoffed.

Davion looked at me, '...he never told you? His father was originally the king."

I blinked not once or twice, but thrice until I realized what he said, "Wait, what!?"

Davion opened his mouth to speak, but he soon closed it without saying anything after looking behind me. I turned my head to see Lea standing there with a smile upon his face. "Ready to go?" he asked me.

I turned away from him, "...Yea. Let's go," I said. He's a prince! That makes Judith a princess as well... Fuck! I'm living in a castle full of royalty!

---

We luckily made it outside of the city without incident, where we said goodbye to Davion. Lea and I then made it back to the castle at around midnight. Lea went to check on his sister and then went to bed, but I had too much on my mind. I was lying down in the castle courtyard, staring at the stars and the moon.

What am I doing here? Why am I pitching myself against Majora's mask? I can't beat him. I'm no hero, or knight, or adventurer. I'm a musician and nothing else! Sure, I may have some weird fighting instinct that kicks in whenever I'm in danger, but still! I don't have enough strength for this! I have no power whatsoever! *sigh* Maybe I should just run away...

"We are glad someone other than ourself enjoys the night," a familiar voice said. I turned my head to find Luna laying on her hooves, staring out into the sky. I ignored her and turned my sight back skywards. "It is obvious that something is troubling thou. What ails your mind?"

I hesitated for a moment before confessing, "...I'm going to die..."

"By the Mask that corrupts young Judith's father?" Luna confirmed

."How—?"

"We asked Judith where thou and Lea were travailing to, and she explained the situation. Let it be known that when we return to Canterlot, we will help with this crisis to the extent of our power."

I paused and then sighed, "If I fight Majora, I'll surely die. I'm just not qualified to do this kind of crap..."

"Going back on thy feelings, are we?" I gave her a questioning look, "We believe it was, 'Aren't thou ready to die? Because we are!' or something like that."

I sighed again and looked back up, "I don't know anymore..." I closed my eyes, "I just don't want to lose what I've gained here." Silence then took over the conversation. It lasted a couple of moments before I asked, "What would you do in my situation?"

The blue mare thought about it for a while before replying, "Even if only one were to believe in us, we would fight." I felt her hoof gently rub my shoulder, "We know that thou can think of one who believes in thy victory over Majora."

"...I can think of two, actually."

"Then remember those two whilst fighting the demon," Luna suggested.

I sighed for a last time before getting up. I turned to the princess with a light smile, "Thanks." She smiled back as I passed her on my way to the castle. Time to get some sleep.

---

"You're leaving right after breakfast?" Lea asked as we walked down towards the dining hall. I had found him before he went to get something to eat for two reasons. One being that I needed to tell him that I was going to get the third mask right away.

I nodded, "I don't have the time to relax. Every passing moment lets Majora drain your father, making him more powerful. I've convinced myself that the masks of soul are the only things that can make me win in a fight against Majora." We walked through a set of large double doors and came into a room where a long, wooden table sat accompanied by chairs and our other two companions. "By the way," I said noticeably louder, "you never told me that you had a special someone!"

The second reason was that I wanted to make his life a living hell.

Lea stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me as I continued walking away. I pulled out a seat next to Luna who was reading a book, but looked at me when we walked in. "What art thou doing making Lea's private life loud enough for all to hear?"

"Revenge," I said nonchalantly.

Lea finally looked away from me as a cracking sound came from the other end of the room. Judith was holding a fist in her claw and glaring daggers at Lea. "Explain. Now," she ordered in a very dark tone. Lea looked back to me with a pleading look. I smugly smiled and flipped him the bird. All hope faded from his expression and he turned back to Judith, who was now standing on the table in front of him. Judith jumped on to Lea and started attacking him viciously while yelling, "Tell me who it is!"

I started laughing at his misfortune and I actually fell over in my chair because of how hard I was laughing. Luna sighed and gave me a disappointed look. "H-h-he deserves i-it!" I explained. The mare shook her head at me and returned to her book.

"There is a train that runs from ponyville to the frozen north. After that, you'll need to head north-east until you find a mountain that looks like it is wearing a crown. We thought thou ought to know," she said. I tried to suppress my laughter as I got up off the floor and walked out of the room.

I headed towards my room to prepare for my next quest.

---

The frosty bite of the cold on my cheeks and the dampness of my clothes made me nostalgic of my home on earth as I trek through the northern tundra. After getting off the train, I tried to make it to my destination by flying as a dragon, but I immediately lost all of my strength. I guess dragons are susceptible to the cold. Anyway, I had to make it there by foot which made it far more difficult since there was a blizzard blowing through just as I was arriving.

Honestly though, why even have a train here, I thought. Not that I'm complaining. What did Luna say again? A mountain that's wearing a crown... I looked around the white fog caused by all the snow blowing around. Damn, I can't see a thing! Why did there have to be a blizzard right now?

I sighed and continued to push through the storm. I can't even see three feet...! My thought deteriorated as a giant shadow loomed in front of me. A mountain stood in my path that seemed to rise above the sky itself. At it's peak, several massive icicles were shooting out from all directions. Never mind. After regaining focus from the magnificent sight, I continued forwards to the base of the giant and sure enough, a pile of boulders greeted me there.

I dropped the bag into the snow, pulled out three bombs out of it and began positioning them. One in the center of the cluster of boulders, and the other two on ether side of the first bomb, but on the ground. I quickly changed into a dragon, lit the fuses, changed back into human form, and dove quite a far distance away. And then the sound of success bellowed in my ears.

*KA-BOOM!*

I smiled as I saw the debris from the barrier flew over my head and out into the blizzard. I looked at the hole that now lay at the base of the mountain. Deciding that I should get it over with, I continued into the void.

The cavern had been travelled before, since the walls had intricate patterns cut into it and the floor had been stomped flat. My footsteps echoed through the tunnel as I made my way farther and farther into the mountain. Eventually, I saw a opening at the far end of the tunnel. However, I failed to notice the small, smooth pressure plates in front of me until I stepped on them.

Suddenly, an arrow tore through the air in front of my eyes and implanted itself into the wall.

I turned my head slowly, brining my sight to the thing that almost ended me. After a few seconds of staring at the arrow, I let out a breath that I didn't know that I was holding. My eyes trailed down from the arrow to the remains of someone who was far less lucky than me. I gulped and turned away from the skeleton, only to realize that I didn't see that the entire hall was filled with them! An assortment of bones belonging to a variety of species, all lining the floor of the tunnel.

"Aww man..." I moaned. But, I had to get through that gauntlet of booby-traps and get that mask for Lea and Judith! Taking a few steps back, I jumped on the balls of my feet to limber up. I got down into a starting position, and after a few seconds of self motivation, I sprinted down the hall.

Duck! Jump! Roll! Cartwheel! Nox ordered. I don't know how I did the latter, but it got me through that death trap. The passage opened up into a cylindrical staircase where the stairs wound up to the top. I sighed and ascended the tower, having a few close calls with falling off the edge while on my way.

. Eventually, I got to the top of the spire where a old wooden door waited to be opened. As I pushed through the door, dust burst from the other side, making me cough and gag. On the other side however, was a magnificent, semi-sphere shaped chamber with an altar in the center. The alter held —you guessed it— the gryphon mask, in all it's glory. A large beak stuck out of the front and two blue eyes on top of that, with brown feathers surrounding them. Chuckling, I made my way over to the mask and picked it up from it's pedestal.

The door suddenly slammed closed. I turned to it, only to have my attention taken away as a very loud cracking sound came from the floor. I froze as the sounds continued, but they stopped as quickly as they began.

My last thought before the floor caved in was, Oh n—. As a last resort, I put the mask in my hand on my face. And then I fell into the darkness, screaming in pain as I did.

---

I awoke to the familiar sounds of metal wheels bumping up and down in a rhythmic pattern. I opened my eyes to see a dark green carpet staring back at me and aching all over my body. I was laying face down on a wooden bench and for some reason, there was an eagle's claw laying on the floor. Oh wait, that's my claw, I thought as I reached to pick it up, but instead pressed it harder into the floor.

"Ya' gave gave us a right good scare there, mate!" a Irish accented voice told me.

"Pardon?" I asked as I looked up to see two figures. One was a earth pony. Dark green main and tail, green coat, Light blue eyes, and a magnifying glass hovering over a rock for a cutie mark. The other was a gryphon, who had his arms crossed and was very burly. He had a red main coat of feathers which were also highlighted with yellow here and there. Also, he had a brown eye, the other was closed off by a scar.

The pony chuckled, "Well, ya' went and, gosh darnit', ya' fell on us!"

I raised an eyebrow at this. The gryphon saw this and explained, "We heard an explosion not too far away from where we were, so we decided to check things out."

"To see if anypony got hurt, ya' see," the pony added.

"Uh huh," I hummed. "Who are you?" I asked, pointing to both of them.

The pony rolled his eyes and put a hoof to his fore head, "Oh, silly me! Where are me manners, I'm Tablet Flip, and the grumpy one here is Marcus Stonebeak! And who might you be?"

I blinked, Fuck, not this shit again... "Uh..." Think dammit! I need to think of a name before—! ...Wait a second... "...I don't remember... I can't remember anything!" I put a claw to my head and started breathing heavily.

Tablet Flip held out his hooves, "Oh no! Don't try to stress yourself over this, that won't do nothin' good!"

I got up from the table and headed to the door that lead to the next car, "I... I think that I need some fresh air..."

"You come back when you're ready to talk, lad!" The pony called as I exited the car with a smirk.

I quickly tore the gryphon mask from my face and replaced it with the pony mask. You may think, "Why didn't he just leave?" That's mainly because I didn't know where I was or where I was going. If I waited for just a bit longer, I would be in a town and I could figure out what to do from there.

I opened and entered the door to the next car, now in a pony form. The car was empty, except for a stallion with a brown scarf around his neck reading a newspaper. The stallion had a white coat, light blue eyes, and a dark blue mane with a lighter shade running down the middle. His cutie mark was a Dark blue shield with a purple, six pointed star in the center and three more blue stars above. I noted that he had dark bags under his eyes as he read his newspaper.

Not wanting any attention, I sat down immediately on the bench to my left and scooted down to the window. I peeked over and looked back at the stallion. Good, he still doesn't know I'm here, I thought. Relaxing a bit, I looked out the window. Unfortunately, all I could see was frost, snow, and mountains. I must still be in the Frozen North. That means I got here a while ago... and that I'm leaving, I smiled, for free!

My joy only lasted a few minutes, however. The door I came to opened and my head whipped to the noise. The green pony from before walked through the door with a worried expression on his face. His head swivelled until he's eyes met mine, "You wouldn't happen to see a gryphon walk through this here car, would ya'? He's a big one, brown eyes, blue-tipped feathers?"

I smiled and politely shook my head; I didn't want him to recognize my voice and get suspicious. Tablet Flip frowned, "Alrighty then." He then walked off towards the other end of the cart, but before exiting he asked the other stallion— who was already aware of his presence — the same question. He too shook his head, letting Tablet continue on his marry way.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding when that nuisance left and looked back out the window. Holding back my excitement, I thought, Finally! Time to get—! "I didn't know that anypony was in this car but me!" a smooth and semi-deep voice said from my right. I mentally seethed, God dammit! He must have notice me when that dammed Irish pony talked to me! And to top it off, he's a surfer-dude! "I'm Shining Armour. You mind if I sit with you?"

I turned to Shining with a fake smile, "No, I don't mind." If I get the chance, I'm going to fucking tear your head off, I thought to him. I motioned for him to sit, and he did so with a smile and a "Thank you."

"So, what brings you to these parts?" he asked. This is exactly why I didn't want you to notice me... I thought at him again.

"Business," I told him.

He Laughed, "What kind of employer would send somepony all the way out here?!"

"I'm an archaeologist. I came here to acquire something."

"I see. Well then, what's your focus?"

"...Excuse me?" I asked.

Shining rolled his eyes, "You know, which history is your specialty?"

"Oh," I hummed in understanding, "I guess that would be human then."

His eyes opened in surprise, "Human? Huh, not many research that field..."

"Really?" I asked. "Why's that?"

"It's generally considered myth," he gave me a quizzical look, "but you're in the field. Don't you already know this?"

"I'm actually relatively new to the field," I half-lied.

"That makes sense. So, what did you get?"

Uh... I thought, I can't show him! The mask is on my human form! "Well, it's... confidential. Plus, it's really boring anyway."

"Hrm," he groaned. "All of the interesting things are."

"I didn't take you for the knowledgeable type," I admitted. After all, he was a surfer-dude.

He smiled, "Well, it's mostly so that I have some topics for conversation with my sister." Shining started to chuckle, "She's annoyingly smart. I actually brought her a human artifact that my fiancé had found, and she flat out told me it was junk!"

"Why's that?" I asked with sudden curiosity.

The stallion reached over into his saddle bag and pulled out a bundle of cloth, "Take a look for yourself." He slid the bundle over to me and I took it in my hooves. The item inside the cloth felt hard and smooth, like plaster or something. I unwrapped the cloth to find two black slits glaring at me from their yellow background. It had pointy ears and nose, all tipped black. The mask of a certain fox was in my hooves and it stared into my soul. I felt that it was... alive. "She said it had nothing to go by to tell if it was of human origin," Shining stated. I turned over the mask to find that the interior was completely yellow, except for the two small holes located in the slits of the mask. Like Shining said, there were no markings, just that calming yellow.

"...Why do you say it's a human artifact?" I questioned, looking back up to him.

He smiled, "Well, that's because it was found in a human ruin!"

"I see..." I was completely enticed by the mask. I didn't want to let it go. "Um... would you be willing to part with it?"

Shining smiled, "I don't see why not!" I reached for my money, but I quickly found that it wasn't there. Shit... The stallion held up his hoof, "It's fine, you don't have to pay me anything." A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

Suddenly, the train jerked back as if it were stopping. A brown stallion walked into the car dressed in a fancy looking uniform and told us that we would be arriving in Canterlot before leaving. "Well," Shining started, "this is my stop."

"You live here?" I asked.

"Yea, and I work here too," he answered.

"What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm captain of the royal guard." My eyes widened. That means he knows Luna's sister!

As the train was pulling into the station, I asked, "Hey, this is going to sound really suspicious and weird, but could you tell princess Celestia that her sister's fine?"

He turned to me with a confused expression, "How do you know that?"

"Let's just say a rather big, clumsy, blue bird told me," I said.

The guard stared at me for a moment before nodding and leaving the car. Some other ponies made their way into the train, but I didn't care. I leaned my head against the window and as the train left the station, I started falling asleep.

---

As I walked through the forest in my human form with my bow drawn and an arrow on the string already, I couldn't help but feel worried. I remembered that Majora knew where I was in the castle, so what was stopping him from finding me? That thought alone made me uneasy. but for some reason the forest was more unnerving than before. I could barely make out the moonlight peeking through the canopy. I slipped my newly acquired Keaton mask to try and subdue the uneasy feeling building in my chest. For some reason, it worked.

The pitter-patter of rain suddenly erupted around me, striking down the unusual silence of the forest. I was getting close to the castle and as I did, my uneasy felling grew and grew. Picking up the pace, I ran to my temporary home.

When I breached the clearing into the town, I spied for any inconsistencies in the regular in the surrounding environment. I noticed that the castle had no lights on. I was confused by this because I always left the candles lit, even at night. Oh god, I thought as I ran into the town, please let them be safe... I can't lose anyone else! I ran as fast as I could through the rain towards the castle. In my haste, however, I tripped over my feet and fell.

If I hadn't, I would have missed Lea.

My hands landed in a sea of red. I smelled blood and nothing else. I looked for the source and not too far away sat the red dragon I've come to accept as a friend, blood pouring from him like the rain.

"L...LEA!" I ran over to him and kneeled down in front of him, tearing off my mask and letting it drop to the ground. The blood came from a would on his chest. It looked like he had been impaled. I shoved my hands on to the wound and pressed as hard as I could. As I did, my hands were covered by his warm blood.

"...J...Ju..." My head snapped up to see his glossy, tear-filled eyes. One of his claws slowly made its way up on to my wrist. "P...promise..." he said, "...pro-t-ect...J-jud-ith..."

Tears started to fill my eyes now, "You can do that yourself, god dammit! Don't leave us! Judith needs you! I need you!" His breaths were getting shallower.

Lea chuckled.

Then, he stopped breathing all together.

After a few moments, his warm body became cold.

And like that, he was gone.

I sat in the rain, looking at my third loved one to die early.

---

Luna said that I had started screaming, but I don't remember anymore. All I remember is feeling him pass on. When Judith and Luna found me and him, Judith passed out.

She must be awake. I can hear her weeping from the other end of the castle.

Why must people die, and leave the living to suffer?

Author's Note:

I'm terribly sorry that this took so damn long to publish, but it's done. I've been swamped with other work, but now I have a long break ahead of me and I plan on making the most of it.

Also, a shout out to Storm Nova for editing this chapter!

Comments

[PrototypeJ]

awesome chapters you are doing a amazing job

[Free2424]

4601109 Thank you very much for the compliment!

[InkFox]

After a long wait another great chapter. Kind've wondering what happens next. I have to say that your writing abilities are getting better with each chapter.

[Free2424]

4628314 That's good to hear because I've been practicing writing through a bunch of other outlets, other than my Fimfiction stories. I'm glad you enjoy my work!

[Free2424]

5127534 It's rather important for explaining how things came to be, but not really important story-wise. Sorry, but I can't really explain it right now. You know, spoilers.

[amiamera]

Good chapter. Also, what will you do with the keaton mask I wonder? Keep up the good work and don't give up on this story please.