Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
Fluttershy awoke to a rasping cough. She should have expected this, but with two nights without sleep behind her, she had just dozed off without meaning to. Her patient, a young mouse with a bad cold, was having another cough attack. “Don't you worry. Fluttershy's going to make you some more tea. That'll make your throat feel better,” the motherly mare said before heading to the kitchen of her small cottage.
As she started the stove to boil some water, she reached for her jar of tea leaves, feeling around the shelf without taking her eyes off the kettle. As the pegasus tipped it aside to pour some of the leaves out, she found that it was completely empty save for a few stems. She looked around her kitchen for possible substitutes, but found none that would suffice. Knowing that the mouse would just keep coughing all night if she didn't do something, she wrapped a scarf around her neck, and headed out to gather more leaves.
When Fluttershy arrived at the edge of the Whitetail Woods, the first thing she noticed was that the ground was damp. She vaguely remembered Rainbow Dash telling her something about a big planned storm recently, but she hadn't really been listening to her. 'At least they kept the thunder down.' she mused, not enjoying what happened when it did. The noise was just so loud as sudden that any soft fluffy object nearby often became quickly wrapped around her.
She was on her way to her small grove of tea plants (for some reason, they wouldn't grow right in her garden. An inconvenience, but she'd live), when she noticed two things happen in rapid succession: her hoof struck something hard, and she was falling forward into the mud. Covering her face helped a little, but she still had to wipe her eyes afterward. Turning to see what had tripped her, she was surprised to find a wooden box sticking out of the ground. Her hoof had knocked it slightly ajar, and she couldn't help but want to peek inside. Who would bury something in the middle of the woods where anypony could just trip over it? The yellow mare dug up the box, noting that it was relatively wide and long, but very flat. Opening it fully, she noted the strange patterns on it. They looked sort of like circles, but each one was formed out of a single line that made a very confusing path. 'Maybe Twilight knows what they mean,' she thought before looking into the box.
By the moonlight, Fluttershy could see that there was a wooden mask inside. It had a metal band coming down from the center of the top of it held in place by four bolts. They eyes and mouth were mostly rectangular, but they curved a little and the corners were rounded. On an eyeball, Fluttershy guessed that it could cover the entire face of anypony who wore it. Wanting to get back to the mouse quickly, she closed it up and kept heading to her tea patch.
The recent storm had been a very strong one. Even though it had been a few days ago, the tea leaves still had moisture on them from the downpour. As Fluttershy touched the plants to pluck the leaves, a light sprinkle fell from the rest of the plant, lightly tapping the ground. Normally, she would have stopped to admire the falling droplets, but she just kept picking. She wasn't quite sure why, but she felt impatient for something. 'I must really want to help that mouse,' she decided, nearly pulling an entire plant out of the ground, 'or maybe I just want to get back to sleep soon.' Filling her bag with enough leaves to last a while, Fluttershy started heading back.
When she left the woods, she felt a strange desire. She usually was happy with four hooves firmly on the ground, but tonight she felt like flying. 'Weird. I didn't want to fly on the way here, but now it seems like the best idea,' Fluttershy mused, extending her wings and hovering slightly, 'but why? If I fall from too high up, I could really hurt myself. I got lucky the first time.' As she remembered her first encounter with the land full of so many wonders below Cloudsdale, her body seemed to move of it's own will, flying higher and faster than she was accustomed to.
As she finished humming the song that had popped into her head on that day, Fluttershy noticed that she was in front of her cottage. 'OK, now I'm scared. How did I get here so fast? I should still be passing Ponyville right now.' Not wanting to dwell on this thought any longer, she quickly went inside. Heading to the kitchen, she refilled her tea jar and finished her brewing. After giving the mouse a thimble sized cup, she headed to her bed, where thoughts of the new day tomorrow lulled her gently to sleep.
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Fluttershy woke a few hours after getting back to sleep. She didn't want to, but the eager and loud rapping on the door meant that she didn't have much opinion in the matter. Knowing who it was without even looking, she was still surprised by what she she heard.
“HeyFluttershyguesswhatRarity'slettingmethrowherpartybecauseit'sherbirthdayandsheknowsthatIalwaysthrowthebestparties-”
“Um, Pinkie, could you please-”
“andIknowshelikesfancystuffsoIwenttothelibrarytofindabookonthesubjectandIfoundonefasterthanRainbowDashgoesduringasSonicRainboom whichislikeWHOOSHfastandthere'stherainbowthatspreadsoutwiththesound-”
“Pinkie, I've got a very sick-”
“whichisreallyloudlikethatsoundsystematthatVinylScratchconcertthatIdraggedyouandTwilightandRaritytoandRainbowDashwentwentwithoutneedingmetoaskandApplejackcouldn'tmakeitbecauseshewastakingcareofhersisterandherfriendsthatnightandtheyapparentlyhadapartyoftheirownandspeakingofpartiesI'mthrowingRarity'sbirthdaypartyatCaroselBoutiquetonightandthere'llbechocolateandcakeandfountainsandchocolatefountainsandchocolatecakeandcakefountainsandIreallyhopethatyoucanmakeiteventhoughthisisveryshortnotice! Anyway, what were you saying Fluttershy?”
“I've got a very sick mouse right now and I need you to stay quiet so he can get some rest.”
“Well why didn't you say so, silly?” the pink prancing pony said with a grin that covered the entire lower half of her face. She made a waving motion with her back hoof, and the timid pegasus could glimpse a large brass instrument moving out of sight.
“Um, I tried to but I, uh, couldn't because you were talking really fast about something. What were you saying?”
“As you know, Rarity's birthday is coming up, and I convinced her to let me throw her a biiig party since we've been friends for a while now. I wanted to make it special for her, so I went to Twilight's to figure out what to do, and I saw this reeealy interesting idea in this one book called a masquerade. Anyway, do you want to come?” The pink party pony pulled a clipboard and pen out of her mane at the last part. The paper on the clipboard had a very long list of names, some of which had checkmarks next to them. Fluttershy figured it must be the new way of RSVPing, since Pinkie wasn't allowed to do singing telegrams anymore. Court order.
“Um, what's a mass-ker-aid?” Fluttershy replied, never having heard the word before.
“Iths thiff brearry thfun ssing fhere,” she dropped the clipboard and started over, “It's this really fun thing where it's a party and everypony there wears a mask the whole time. Nopony knows who anypony else is! Though some clever ponies might figure it out.” She turned her head to the side, looking intently as if she were aiming her comment at something. “So will you be there?”
“I'd love to,” the pegasus replied, checking off her name.
“Great! I'll see you tonight!” Pinkie grinned, grabbing her list and hopping out the door. Fluttershy noticed that Gummy had his jaws firmly clamped around Pinkie's tail. Closing the door, Fluttershy went back to the mouse she had left in Angel's care. Seeing that he was doing well, she decided to make breakfast for herself and every other critter in her cottage.
When she finished a few hours later, she decided to take the box to Twilight to figure out what the symbols on it meant. As she lifted it, though, she decided to leave the mask that was inside at home. No need to worry Twilight about silly things like that.
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As she arrived at the library, Fluttershy shifted the box in her bag. She'd delayed for a little bit when removing the mask from it, admiring the craftsponyship on each item. Deciding to look at the mask later, she'd managed to make it to the library uneventfully. She knocked three times on the door, then took a step back.
A pink-purple glow surrounded the door as it swung, and the shy pony smiled as she saw her book loving friend standing in the frame.
“Hey Fluttershy. What brings you away from your cottage without me asking?”
“Um, I, uh, found something last night and I was wondering if you could look at it. That is, if you're not too busy.”
“Of course I'm not too busy. Spike, what's the next item on the list and when does it need to be done by?”
“Next item...next item...'Make mask for Rarity's party. Due by sunset.' I still can't believe you need a reminder after that invitation,” he replied, clearly doing something behind a pile of books. There was a white powder in the area around him, and a bowl of opaque water could be seen poking out around the side of a small tower of literature.
“See Fluttershy, I've got plenty of time. Celestia's barely moved the sun past the 9 AM mark.”
“Oh, well in that case,” Fluttershy sighed, reaching back and pulling the box out, “I found this in Whitetail Woods. It was partially buried.”
Twilight grabbed the box with magic, and pulled up a table and chairs. She sat down, and invited Fluttershy to do the same.
“This very interesting. How far down did you say this was buried?”
“Not too deep, it was partially sticking out. I'm particularly wondering about these symbols. They're just so complex and detailed.”
The purple unicorn leaned towards the box, examining the patterns more closely.
“Well, they're definitely Neighlic in origin. I'll need to look further into it. Spike, bring me Symbols and Sigils of Seafaring Stallions,” she called, scrutinizing the patterns.
“Neighlic?” the pegasus asked, never having heard the term before.
“They were an old civilization that disappeared a few thousand years ago. They were master sailors and clever engineers. They were able to build houses and other building by making artificial hills that were hollow inside. They also pioneered some of the most powerful and primal magic in existence. According to legends, they had spells that could permanently change what type of pony you were, or give you these crazy things like extra legs or another head, or even change your personality entirely. They also are some of the earliest pioneers of diagram magic; using patterns on the ground to help cast spells,” Twilight replied, obviously planning to say more before Spike returned with the book.
“Here you go Twilight,” he said, getting the book as close to Twilight as possible before speaking. She had a habit of telekineticly grabbing any book Spike brought to her, and he didn't want to continue his inadvertent flying lessons.
“Thank you Spike,” she replied, levitating the text in front of her as she read, “ah, here we are. It looks like these symbols, known as Shield Knots, are used to confuse and contain spirits and other incorporeal entities. Judging from how intricate the knots are, this may have been used to contain something the Neighlic people thought was really dangerous. While they may have been amazing spellcasters and engineers, they still had silly beliefs about this sort of thing. Everypony knows that spirits don't exist. Scientists have searched for years and found nothing. I'm just surprised that you found this thing empty. Usually they'd put something in here that they wanted to protect.”
“Um, well, uh,” Fluttershy mumbled, wondering if Twilight should know about the mask she had found inside.
“What is it Fluttershy? Was there something else you wanted to ask about this box? If you don't mind, I'd like to keep it here for study,” the unicorn replied, levitating the box and closing it.
“Uh, sure. I'm not using it right now, so you can keep it as long as you need to.” The pegasus smiled. Why should she worry? Twilight was the best magician in Equestria, except maybe for the Princesses. She'd have detected any residual magic from that mask if there was any.
“Thanks Fluttershy! I guess I'll see you at Rarity's party tonight.” Twilight grinned, sending the box and book back to Spike, who fell over from the impact. “I can't wait to see what mask you'll be wearing. I'll need to get some work done on mine if I want it to be Rarity worthy.”
“Oh, well then I should leave you alone then so that you can get to work. Thanks Twilight.” Fluttershy smiled, showing herself out. 'So the box was keeping that mask safe,' she thought, walking out of the library door, 'but was it keeping the mask safe from us, or us safe from it?'
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The sun was about a half hour from the horizon, which would initiate Rarity's party. Fluttershy hadn't gotten a mask for the night, she'd been to busy examining the one she'd found. Despite it's apparent simplicity, Fluttershy felt as if the mask were hiding something from her, something big.
What harm could there be? It was just an old mask, yet Fluttershy couldn't shake the feeling that it was bad. Twilight had said that the box was meant to keep the box safe. But was that to keep what was inside safe, or to keep everything else from what was inside? Fluttershy kept asking herself questions like this as she examined the wooden mask. She gave it an occasional poke, but nothing happened other than more confused looks from her face.
To start, the wood hadn't aged a bit. There was no sign of decay, no tunnels where bugs may have made homes. It was as if the mask had just been made a few days ago. Fluttershy figured this was magic of some kind, but why would the same spell also affect the metal band, which was devoid of any rusting or discoloration. Fluttershy didn't know much about magic, but she remembered that Rarity always had trouble making things with metal, and Twilight usually had to work harder to cast spells on metal objects. Whoever made this mask had to have been a unicorn of some sort, and a really powerful one. But if they had been powerful, wouldn't Twilight have a reference of some sort to look up? It was just so confusing! Fluttershy hadn't been this messed up since her modeling career, and she preferred not to remind herself of that incident.
Fluttershy continued to stare at the mask, sometimes rotating it or tilting her head to see it in a different light. She was only moved out of her trance-like state by a soft nudging in her side. She turned and saw Angel holding up a watch with a disapproving look on his face. His open hand pointed out the window, where the last few rays of sunlight were passing over the distant hills. It was almost time for Rarity's party. Fluttershy gulped as she realized exactly the predicament she was now in.
“Oh Angel, what should I do? I promised that I'd be a Rarity's birthday party and that means that I need to wear a mask but I was so busy looking at this that I didn't have time to go buy one or make one and there's certainly not any time now to do so and I can't just show up at Rarity's party without a mask but I don't have one and-” she rambled, stopping only when Angel pulled her mane. She looked at him, and he gave her his “Are you serious” look while pointing to the mask that she had just a few seconds ago been unable to tear herself away from.
“But that could be dangerous, Angel. I don't want to get in trouble or hurt just because I was so careless. This whole situation just makes me so frustrated, I could just stomp my foot in anger.” She gave a light tap of her foot onto the ground, not even disturbing the dust. Angel just tapped his watch and pointed from the mask to Fluttershy to the town. She could see a dim light coming from around the Carousel Boutique. She was going to be late if she didn't figure something out quickly! She looked at the mask again. It may have been her imagination, or the fading daylight, or a combination of the two, but it looked as if a flash of green had crossed the mask, and the mouth hole looked to grin, though just for an instant, before going back to exactly as it had been for the entire day.
“*Sigh*. I don't have a choice, do I Angel?”
A simple nod was his only response.
“At least nopony will know it's me, so I won't need to worry that they'll get upset at me for using something that could be important to somepony else.”
Fluttershy turned the mask over so the back was facing up. Again, this may have just been her imagination, but it seemed to be calling to her, asking to be worn.
“I'll see you tomorrow, Angel.” The yellow mare smiled at her fluffy friend before turning to press her face into the mask. As she leaned in, she could have sworn that the mask seemed to reach back, trying to press itself into her face as much as she was doing the reverse.
When the wood first touched her face, Fluttershy immediately felt that this had been a bad idea. The mask tightened around her, growing onto her. Every nerve in her body was on fire, as an ancient magic grasped her and worked its way into her body. Fluttershy could feel her body changing. Into what, she had no idea. Angel ducked under a chair and critters all over the room withdrew from Fluttershy. As the mask grew and wrapped around her head, Fluttershy could feel something reaching through her face and burrowing into her head, wrapping around her brain. She only think of one possible thing to do in the situation. Inhaling hard, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her head was in flux, though, and only a deep groan of pain was able to be heard. A whirlwind formed around her, and she knew that putting on that mask had been a very bad idea. Closing her eyes, Fluttershy pictured herself at Rarity's party, and hoped for the best.