Beneath the Mask

by TheDrunkenJinjo

Chapter 2 - A Magnetic Personality

Braxton had been wandering the forest for the better part of an hour and he was still no closer to any sort of exit. The dirt path he had been following had all but disappeared a while back, seemingly stomped out of existence by what looked like small hoofprints.

‘Huh. Must’ve been an old riding trail or something,’ Braxton assumed.

As he walked along, Braxton began to notice more strange things about the forest. Namely, that it was perpetually dark. Even though Braxton could clearly see the sun through the trees whenever he looked up, the illuminating rays never seemed to penetrate the canopy above.

Also, these woods contained some of the strangest flora he had ever come across. More than once he had seen patches of flowers that seemed to glow blue in the darkness, which he decided to give a wide berth.

‘I’m not going anywhere near those things. For all I know, they could be radioactive or something,’ Braxton thought as he walked around yet another patch.

The more he examined his surroundings, the more he saw things that unsettled him. Even the trees were odd. The trunks of them seemed to have monstrous faces carved into them, with menacing eyes and mouths with pointed teeth.

“Scary faces carved into trees? Seriously?! Pfft, where am I, inside of an old Scooby-Doo cartoon?” Braxton snarked aloud.

However, for all of his nonchalance, deep down this place unnerved him greatly. There was something off-putting about it that he couldn't quite place, although. As though behind every tree or under every bush, there may be some creature ready to pounce on him.

Shaking his head clear of those macabre thoughts, Braxton decided it may be time for a break, and sat down at the base of a tree. After getting relatively comfortable, he fished his phone out of his duster pocket and checked the time.

‘What the hell? 12:00 A.M.? There’s no way that can be right. Goddamn it, the last thing I need right now is for my piece of crap phone to start glitching out on me.’ Braxton thought angrily, shoving said piece of crap back into it’s place. After a few minutes of resting his weary feet, one of Braxton’s basic biological necessities decided to make itself known.

“Damn, I’m thirsty.” He said, unslinging his backpack. He searched through it for a few moments before he came across his canteen, which he promptly pressed to his lips. Only to find that it was bone dry.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me.” Braxton lamented, sighing deeply. “Hmmm, maybe there’s a stream or something around here...” Looking to his right, he saw a decently sized river flowing with crystal blue water not thirty feet away.

‘Well... that’s convenient.’ Braxton noted in his head.

Braxton walked over and knelt by the side of the river. He saw his reflection staring back at him from the clear water. ‘Looks fine, but I better give it a quick taste first. Can’t be too careful.’ Braxton thought. Removing his gloves and cupping his hands, he drank from the pure looking river.

As soon as the cool liquid hit his tongue, Braxton’s eyes shot open. “Holy hand grenades, this is the best water I’ve ever fucking tasted!” He shouted loudly, before dunking his entire head into the water. After gulping greedily from the river for several minutes, only stopping for oxygen when necessary, he finally got his fill.

Braxton burped mightily and patted his stomach. “Man, I’ve gotta get me some of this for the road!” He exclaimed. Filling up his canteen to the absolute brim and returning it to his pack, Braxton slipped his gloves back on and stood up to leave. Before he could, however, something big in the river caught his eye. Something really big.

“T-That wasn’t no guppy...” Braxton said shakily. Seconds after the words left his mouth, large waves began to form in the formerly calm river. He began to back away slowly and was about to turn tail and run when, suddenly, the water broke and a monstrous serpent burst through the surface.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, holy SHIT!!!” Braxton shouted, tripping over his feet and landing on his back. The serpent was absolutely massive, easily ten times Braxton’s size, with glistening purple scales, pointed claws, an oddly well-groomed orange hairstyle, and what looked like a...

“Does that thing have a fucking mustache?” Braxton said aloud as he took in the details of the monster. Unfortunately, it heard him. The serpent fixed his gaze on him and Braxton gulped audibly, not exactly loving the idea of becoming this thing’s snack. The serpent leaned down and grinned, showing off his sharp fangs. Braxton’s eyes widened in terror, knowing that this may be the end for him.

“Why, helloooooo!” The river serpent greeted. Braxton’s jaw dropped open and his brain nearly fell out of his skull. The last thing he expected was for the thing to talk, much less say hi. After a few moments of stunned silence on Braxton’s part, the serpent’s friendly smile shifted to an annoyed pout.

“Hmph! Well, I never! I take the time to greet you, and you don’t even have the decency to respond? How rude!” The serpent berated.

Shaking himself out of his momentary stupor, Braxton slowly stood back up. “O-Oh, uh... s-sorry about that. I was just kinda... shocked. I’ve, uh, never seen anything like you before. Who... what are you, anyway?” He stammered.

The serpent’s pout turned back into a smile. “Why, my name is Steven Magnet, the most fabulous river serpent in the entire Everfree Forest. But, the better question is, what are you? The only creatures I know of that walk on two legs are minotaurs, and you, most certainly, are no minotaur.”

Braxton nearly couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard. ‘Everfree Forest? River serpent? Minotaurs?! What the hell is this thing on about? Shit, I’m getting the feeling I’m not in Switzerland anymore. Either that or I’ve finally gone completely insane.’ He thoughtfully deduced.

Seeing as how “Steven” wasn’t about to eat him... yet, Braxton figured his best bet was to try and make nice with it. “M-My name is Braxton Carr. I’m a human. I-It’s nice to meet you... uh... Steven.” Braxton said, flashing a disarming smile.

Steven raised a scaly eyebrow in confusion. “A... human? I’ve never heard of that before. At any rate, though, the pleasure is all mine, believe me!” Steven said, giving a polite bow.

“Y-Yeah... right... um, listen, I have a bit of a problem and I was wondering if you could maybe help me out?” Braxton said, deciding to take advantage of the serpent’s seemingly kind disposition.

Steven grinned happily. “Sure! So long as it’s in my power, I’ll do whatever I can to help.” He announced.

Braxton inwardly celebrated as he finally seemed to catch a lucky break, albeit an incredibly strange one. “Great! See, I’m kinda lost here and was hoping that you can tell me how to get out of this godforsaken forest. If it’s not too much trouble, of course.” He said, giving the serpent a toothy grin.

Steven waved a claw dismissively. “Pfft, is that all? I do believe I can be of assistance. Simply turn around and head down that path and you will come upon the exit in no time at all!” the serpent directed.

Braxton turned around towards the direction Steven had indicated, and his heart sank. “That path?” Braxton asked, pointing down a familiar dirt path, well worn with use.

“Indeed!” Steven assured.

The slap of Braxton’s facepalm could’ve been heard for miles. ‘DO YOU MEAN TO FUCKING TELL ME I’VE BEEN GOING THE WRONG FUCKING WAY THIS WHOLE FUCKING TIME?!?!’ Braxton mentally raged.

“Is everything all right?” Steven asked in a slightly worried tone.

“Oh yeah, everything’s just... peachy.” Braxton snarled through gritted teeth. He turned back towards the purple serpent. “Anyway, thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Steven.” Braxton expressed with a genuine, if somewhat forced, smile.

“Oh, think nothing of it! Glad to be of service. And please, call me Steve.” The river serpent said, waving his claw again.

“Right. Thanks again, Steve.” Braxton corrected. “I really should be going, though. I need to get out of this forest as soon as possible.”

Steven smiled again. “No problem at all! I must be on my way as well or I’ll be late for my weekly manicure. Oh, that would be simply dreadful! Ta-ta, and don’t be a stranger now!” He said before diving back under the river’s surface.

Braxton shook his head and chuckled at the experience he just had. “Well, that sure was... something. Nice guy, though, if a bit on the... feminine side.” He turned back towards the path he came in on. “Now to get out of here and figure out just where the hell I am." He sighed. "Might as well get it over with.” He said half-heartedly, before trudging down the path once more.

***************

On the outskirts of Ponyville, Twilight and Spike were making their way to their group of friends’ favorite picnicking spot. Coming over the hill, the two saw their friends Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity relaxing on a red checkerboard blanket covered with delicious looking food.

“Hi, girls! Hope I haven’t missed out on anything.” Twilight said when she came upon the group. The five mares looked up at the approaching pair and smiled.

Applejack was the first to speak up. “Howdy there, Twilight.” She greeted, “Naw, ya ain’t missed much. We actually just finished settin’ up.” Spike hopped off of Twilight’s back and jogged over to blanket.

“Oh, boy, look at this spread!” He said licking his lips. “Cupcakes, donuts, apple cider, *gasp* and look: Applejack’s famous apple pies!” He exclaimed, before lifting an entire pie to his maw. Before Spike could bite down, however, the pie was surrounded by a blue aura and snatched away, causing him to bite down on thin air. The pie floated over to the aura’s owner, Rarity.

“Spike, control yourself!” The alabaster unicorn berated. “There will be plenty of food for everypony to have their fair share.” She said, placing the pie back on the blanket.

Spike rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. “Sorry, Rarity. Kinda lost my head for a second.” He said sheepishly.

“Ah, lay off him, Rarity.” Rainbow Dash flew to the young drake’s defense. “Little guy’s just glad to finally get out of that dusty old library he’s been trapped in for a month!” Rainbow snickered, causing Twilight to furrow her brow in annoyance.

Before she could retort, however, Pinkie popped up from behind her, seemingly out of nowhere. “Yeah, Dashie’s right, Rarity!” She said before turning to Twilight. “You guys were cooped up in that stuffy-wuffy library so long I thought you’d gone loco in the coco!” The pink mare bounded back to the others leaving Twilight to wonder briefly how Pinkie got behind her to begin with, before just writing it off as another instance of “Pinkie being Pinkie”.

“Pinkie’s right, Twilight. We were all getting a little worried about you.” Fluttershy spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “What were you doing all this time, um, y-you know, i-if you don’t mind me asking...” She said, shrinking back a little.

Twilight smiled at the shy pegasus and began to fill them all in. “Princess Celestia tasked me with researching Changelings and I may have gotten a tad carried away...” She said with a small blush. The mention of Changelings caused a small shiver to go up the others spines as they recalled the events of the wedding. “Spike convinced me to get out for a while and join you girls for a picnic.” Twilight continued.

“Well, Ah’m mighty glad he did. It just wouldn'a been the same without ya, Twi.” Applejack expressed, earning her an appreciative smile from the lavender mare.

“Alright, alright, enough of that mushy stuff. Let’s eat, already!” Rainbow Dash announced. The other five mares and dragon agreed in unison and moved over to the picnic blanket to begin their day of leisure.

***************

“Dude, this bites!” Scootaloo complained. “We’ve been hunting Changelings for over an hour and we’re still no closer to finding one, or getting our cutie marks!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked the streets of town with heads hung low in disappointment. So far all they had “hunted” were three normal ponies, four frogs, two potted plants, and one size ten mens’ shoe. Quite an impressive feat, considering nopony in Ponyville wore shoes. Or had feet, for that matter.

Sweetie Belle looked to her pegasus friend. “Maybe we should go back to the clubhouse and come up with another plan to get our cutie marks. We’ve still got a few hours left to try something else.” She said.

Scootaloo shook her head rapidly. “No way!” She exclaimed. “This is it, I can feel it! We’ve just gotta find an easier way to go about it.” As the orange filly spoke these words, Apple Bloom, who had been leading the group, spun around to face her friends, eyes aglow with enthusiasm.

“Ah got an idea! Why don’t we go see if Twilight has some fancy spell or somethin’ fer gettin’ rid of Changeling magic? That way, we won’t have ta' look fer ‘em, they’ll be right out in the open!” Apple Bloom exclaimed proudly. Scootaloo beamed brightly at the notion.

“Hey, yeah!” Scootaloo agreed. “I bet Twilight’s got some book on Changelings. Heck, she’s probably got a million of ‘em! Let’s go to the library right now!” She shouted, and began galloping off in the direction of the building, with her friends in hot pursuit.

***************

Upon reaching the library, the three fillies burst through the door with enough force to nearly rip the door off it’s hinges. They called out for Twilight or Spike, but received no response.

“Hey, where are they?!” Scootaloo queried impatiently. “It’s weird enough for Twilight to be gone, but her and Spike? What’s up with that?” She ranted as she paced around the library.

“Well, Ah’m sure we can find the book ourselves.” Apple Bloom stated optimistically. She began to pull books off the shelves with her teeth. “C’mon, girls, a li’l help here.” She said to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who began pulling books as well.

The three ransacked the library for about fifteen minutes to no avail. The library was now a mess, and Scootaloo was beginning to get impatient yet again. “There’s way too many books here! How are we supposed to find the one we need?” She muttered, tossing another book to the side.

“Well, it is a library. What did you expect?” Sweetie Belle snarked, causing Scootaloo to throw a sideways glare her way.

Scootaloo threw her hooves up in resignation. “Ugh, this is getting us nowhere! I think we can count the library out this time.” She spoke with finality. “But where else can we go to get help?” The three fillies pondered for a few minutes before Apple Bloom came up with yet another idea.

“What about Zecora? She knows a lot about magic. Maybe she’s got some kinda potion that kin help us?” Apple Bloom proposed. Sweetie Belle looked to her with concern etched on her face.

“I-I don’t think that such a good idea. I mean, Zecora lives in the Everfree Forest, and Rarity always says to never go in there by ourselves.” Sweetie Belle said hesitantly.

This statement gave the other two fillies pause for a moment, before Scootaloo came to a conclusion. “I don’t like the idea of going in there anymore than you do, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo agreed, “But, if will help us get our cutie marks, then I say going to Zecora’s is worth a shot.”

“Yeah, me too.” Apple Bloom cut in. “Besides, Ah go to Zecora’s by my lonesome all the time, and nothin’ bad has happened to me so far. What could possibly go wrong this time?” The earth pony queried.

Somehow, hearing those words made Sweetie Belle even less sure. Her desire for a cutie mark, however, eventually overrode her fear.

‘Apple Bloom’s right. What’s the worst that could happen?’ She rationalized internally. Sweetie Belle turned back to her friends, who were looking at her expectantly. “*sigh* Okay, fine! Let’s just get it over with.” She said. She sounded a lot more sure than she actually felt.

***************

As Braxton walked past the clearing he had woken up in, he began to ponder more about his encounter with Steven Magnet.

‘Steve said that he didn’t know what a human is. Now, either he’s been living under a goddamn rock his entire life, or I’m a long, long way from home.’ Braxton thought. ‘I’m leaning towards the latter, considering last time I checked, giant river serpents don’t exist. Or minotaurs for that matter. Of course, there’s always the possibility that this is an amazingly vivid dream. Sure as hell doesn’t feel like one, though. But, then again, how would I know what a fucking dream feels like? Wait, wait, I’m getting off topic here.’ Braxton desperately tried to reconcile what exactly was going on and, unfortunately, wasn’t having much luck.

Braxton pushed the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind with a shake of his head. “Just a little farther and I’ll be out of this forest. I’ll worry about getting answers later, right now I have to concentrate on the task at hand.” He spoke aloud with finality. With a look of determination, he set his eyes back ahead and marched on down the path. Little did he know, his answers would be coming sooner rather than later.

Author's Note:

Okay, so that part about the picnic was basically me trying to get a feel for the Mane Six's personalities.

Translating an animated character's persona to the written word is hell of a lot tougher than it looks, but I think I got them down fairly accurately.

At any rate, if you have any suggestions about anything, let me know down in the doobly-doo. Bye!

Comments

[JBL]

It's a wonder his ass hasn't gotten attacked yet the way he's constantly talking out loud!
Perhaps he should try internalizing his thoughts a little more

[Ninjahzzzz]

2597268 Meh,.357 magnum,meet manticore,Manticore,Meet death