The beginning - Anonymous arrival
Everyone hides secrets. Everyone wears a facade. They allow no one to know things about themselves.
Are they liars?
Are they troublemakers?
Are they lunatics?
Murderers?
Only one knows the answer to this...
Sweetie Belle yawned. The whole day had felt like it was carried by a slug. Her head lied on the wooden table in the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. It had been a days worth of crusading, going as well as one might expect.
Speaking of that...
“Rope climbing?”
“Done.”
“Bungee jumping?”
“Also done.”
“Knitting?”
“Lame and done.”
“Well, what about advertising?”
“That did not end well, remember?”
“Uhhh... Shark... punching?”
“That is not even a thing!”, Scootaloo yelled and slammed her hooves onto the table.
“Sorry. Ah can’t think of anythin’.”, Apple Bloom apologized.
The orange pegasus filly just groaned and slammed her face onto the table. She tilted her face so she could talk properly. “We will never get our cutie marks at this pace. We need to step up our game!”
“But how?”, Apple Bloom asked. “We have tried everythin’ by now.”
Scootaloo stood up. “I don’t care! We...”
“Vowed.”, Sweetie Belle butted in.
“We vowed to get our cutie marks, and we WILL get our cutie marks!”, Scootaloo proclaimed, raising one hoof in the air before lowering it back down. “We just need to find out how.”
Sweetie Belle traded uninterested glances with Apple Bloom. Sure, they had started this to get their cutie marks, and while it had been so much fun, both of them were beat from everything they had tried today.
Also, Scootaloo was starting to grow an obsession in the whole thing. It almost outmatched even her fangirl obsession on Rainbow Dash.
Both of them just wanted to go home for today.
“Look, Scoots. Can’t we just stop for today, go home and do this tomorrow.”, Apple Bloop pleaded.
“No!”, Scootaloo shouted. “There is still time. It’s not even eight yet. We still have time.”
Both of the other fillies groaned. It was just as they had dreaded. There was no way out of this.
“Alright. Fine. But only one more try. Then we stop for today. That sound good?”, Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo. After a bit of pondering, she nodded.
Two relieved sighs were unleashed in perfect unison.
“So... What is it gonna be?”, The orange filly asked.
A pregnant silent passed.
Two hooves met faces. They really should have thought this through. This could take a while, which most certainly was not a part of the two fillies plans.
“Oh, come on, girls!”, Scootaloo spoke up. “We just need to think of one, I repeat, ONE thing to do. I mean, it’s not that hard.”
“Ah have listed you things for the past two hours.”, Apple Bloom deadpanned.
Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head in an awkward fashion. “Well, it can’t take much longer, right?”
“It’s not as simple as you make it out to be.”, Sweetie Belle interjected. “You can’t just summon up something on a moments notice. And we have been here for hours.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”, Scootaloo said, showing her hoof in Sweetie’s mouth. “What was that you just said?”
Sweetie would have replied, but Scootaloo’s hoof was still in her mouth. Scootaloo noticed this and swiftly took it out. “Hehe. My bad. Sorry.”, She said with an embarrassed blush.
Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. “I said we have been here for hours.”
“No, before that!”
“What?”, Sweetie asked, confused. “I just said that you can’t summon up something at a moment’s notice.”
The way Scootaloo’s eyes widened was unmistakable. There was that spark there. The spark that only an idea can create.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were outright worried.
“I got it! Why haven’t I thought of this sooner?”
Apple Bloom was almost afraid to ask. “What is it?”
“Girls, we should try to summon something.”
A moment passed. Two set’s of eyes looked at Scootaloo as if she was out of her mind. “What?”, Apple Bloom asked.
“Summon. You know, it’s this neat magic that let’s you bring things far away to the place you are.”, Scootaloo explained it like it was obvious.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both narrowed their eyes suspiciously. “And you know this, how?” Sweetie Belle shot the million bit question.
“T-that’s beside the point!”, Scoots replied quickly. No way was she going to reveal that she read books every now and then ever since Rainbow got into them. Especially in front of her friends.
“But doesn’t magic need, I dunno, a unicorn!”, Apple Bloom pointed out. The two fillies stopped for a second, the sentence being processed in their brains. Then they both turned to look straight at Sweetie Belle. She looked in turn at both of her friends with a deadpan stare.
“No.”
“Oh, come on, Sweetie Belle! This is a great idea.”, Scootaloo said.
“No.”
“It might be worth a shot.”, Apple Bloom added.
“I said no!”
“Why not?”, the two fillies spoke in unison.
“Well, first off, I am not that good at magic yet.”, Sweetie explained. “Second, I don’t even know how this kind of thing works.”
“Oh. Is that all?”, Scoots responded, smiling. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Before either could say a word, Scootaloo had dashed out of the door and was heading for Ponyville.
“...”
“...”
“Wanna go home?”, Sweetie Belle spoke up.
“Nah. She’d just come drag us back here.”, Apple Bloom lamented.
Both let out a sigh of defeat.
The duo lay on their backs, on the floor of the clubhouse, almost completely motionless. It had been twenty minutes since Scootaloo had stormed off and they were getting really, really bored. Not to mention it was getting late.
“Hey.”, Apple Bloom broke the silence that felt like an eternity. “I take it back. Let’s just go home.”
“Sounds good to me.”, Sweetie Belle responded without any sort of enthusiasm.
Both got up and were just about to head for the door when it was slammed open. Scootaloo rushed in, carrying something... big.
“S...Sorry for- for taking so long.”, She said while panting as if she had run a marathon. She took no notice at the two fillies who just fell limp on the floor, groaning, and instead walked up to the table slamming whatever she was carrying onto it. “This will be all we need.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked over at the large thing. “... Is that a... book?”, Sweetie asked, not really sure if that was a book or a box.
“Yup. I went to the library and borrowed it.”, The pegasus filly told her friends and opened the book at a seemingly random page. As it happened, that page was labelled: ‘The basics of summoning’. “This should tell as all we need to know.”
Sweetie Belle eyed at the book- no, the tome suspiciously. ”I don’t know. I still think this is not a good idea.”
“Come on, Sweetie Belle. If it does not work, then that is that.”, Scootaloo nudged the unicorn filly towards the tome.
“Think of it this way: How do we know if this is a good idea or not if we don’t try?” Apple Bloom added.
Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo, then at Apple Bloom and finally at the tome. The looks of expectation in her friends eyes were too much for her. She could not simply let them down. With a sigh, she trotted over to the book and began eyeing the page. “Fine. I’ll give it a try.”
The other two jumped up, high hoofed and produced a loud “YEAH!” in the passing. Sweetie Belle ignored this and just read. There were detailed instructions on how to do this summoning thing. Apparently all that was required to make a summoning work was to think of what ever it was that was being summoned and then sort of have a spell go ‘grab it’, so to speak. It did not sound that hard. The book even clearly stated that even a filly could do it!
After memorizing a few other things, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted. “Are you done yet?”, Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah, I think I got it down. Does not even seem that hard.”
“Well what are you waiting for? Let’s do this thing!”
With a collective nod, the three prepared themselves. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom took a little distance and gave Sweetie Belle some space.
...
“What do I summon?”, Sweetie Belle asked.
Scootaloo gave a sigh of annoyance from this dragging out so long. “I don’t know. Anything?”
Anything? That was a vague concept, but it seemed like it would have to do. With a shrug, Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and concentrated. Her horn lit up and it began gathering some magical energy in it’s tip.
‘Please, allow me to summon anything!’, The unicorn filly thought, not wanting to let her friends down.
Then, without a warning, the energy in her horn burst out and rocketed out the front door, leaving a trail of white light behind it. Two fillies were left gaping in awe. It shot straight up into the sky above, passing the clouds in seconds and continuing on, gaining pace at an incredible rate.
The strand of light hit the sky line and burst through it, leaving a insignia in the air, disappearing. In truth, it just moved from one dimension to the space between two dimensions.
The light coursed through the endless dark reaches of the Void. In it’s darkness beings of great mystery, the great Denizens of the Void looked on as the light passed their ever watching gazes. The light passed something spherical and white in the dark Void. It looked like a giant cue ball. An odd sight.
Then the light escaped the Void through another portal.
It burst out in space, surrounded by endless reaches of stars and planets. It continued forward, passing by numerous planets, stars and meteors. It looked like a miniature comet while racing the vacuum.
Once, it turned and headed for a grey planet, passing it’s atmosphere and going down. The light passed through a city of grey skyscrapers, reaching out to the sky. It passed them all, never stopping.
For a split second, it passed a face. A featureless green face that only included a mouth. The face grinned, noticing the light. As the light swooped past the face, it was left behind to look at the lights trail.
It moved on, passing other planets at greater speed than light itself.
It was headed for a planet called Earth.
On Earth, on top of a great skyscraper, stood a figure. A man. He sat on the edge, looking down at the people below. He then looked up at the reason he was up there.
Nearing the very building he sat upon was a meteor of great size. It was visible to his eyes, and it was closing distance fast. The people below had not yet noticed. They would die once it struck.
The man stood up. He looked up at the meteor. He did not falter, even at the sight of imminent death, unavoidable, even he ran for it. In his other hand he grasped a mask. He raised his arm slowly, putting the mask on his face. In his other hand he held a walking cane.
He stood perfectly still, waiting. The meteor came closer and closer. His grip on his cane tightened. His gaze did not leave the meteor for a second. It was like a train coming at the ground. A gigantic train that was on fire!
His choice had been made. He would not move.
The meteor descended, hitting the atmosphere. Cries of fear from below could be heard. The people noticed. They were afraid, scared for their lives.
The meteor was even bigger than he had thought. It was massive, larger than the building he stood upon. With conviction in his eyes, hidden behind a mask, he raised his cane towards the meteor.
Time seemed to slow down, even though the meteor still headed his way. It began to emit a shockwave, blowing the man’s long hair in the passing wind. Even still, he did not falter.
He was going to die. This he knew. But if he was going to die, might as well make it an incredible death. The most amazing one only he would know.
He grabbed his cane and held it as if it was a sword. Holding it above his head, he prepared himself. His eyes met the meteor.
The cane was swung just as the meteor was upon him. The time had come.
Time seemed to stop. Not for the meteor. Not for the man.
For the light. It had arrived.
In less than an instant, the light passed through the earths atmosphere. It moved forward, directly at the top of a skyscraper. It’s target was set.
It could not be seen by any eyes, but as the light hit the man’s head, his cane tip touched the meteor. In a blink, both the man and the meteor vanished in a blinding flash.
The bystanders were left dumbfounded. They would never know what, and who had saved them. They would remain the same they always have been. Normal. Ignorant.
The man and the meteor passed through the line left behind by the light, the meteor being dropped off midway through. It was only an instant compared to the blink of an eye.
It had fulfilled it’s purpose. The light died out, leaving the rest for fate.
Sweetie Belle bit her teeth. Her magic was being drained fast. But still she pushed on, not giving up. She gave all she had to maintain the spell. Both of her friends looked on at her endeavor, not sure if the spell was doing anything. Then Sweetie Belle opened her eyes.
The light made it’s way into the clubhouse, surprising the three observers. It spun around wildly around the room aimlessly. The three fillies ducked and hit the floor to avoid getting hit by it.
It soon stopped right on the middle of the room, levitating in the air a few feet above it. All three looked at it in wonder. Sweetie Belle in particular, as she had not thought that her spell would have worked.
The light erupted, blinding the little fillies temporarily. From the light a figure came to view. It was kneeling down on the wooden floor. It was good too, as it’s size would have made standing inside difficult.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders blinked a few times before seeing the being. The first thing they saw was that it was something living. And looking straight at them. It’s white face was stuck in an eerie permanent smile. It’s eye sockets seemed dark, empty... Frightening. It was dressed in dark, black tones..
It got up and straightened itself. That is, until it hit it’s head on the ceiling, it’s headpiece getting squashed between it and it’s head. It looked away from the fillies momentarily.
The girls screamed and scampered out of the clubhouse as fast as they could, as if a fire was right on to their tails. They did not stop until they were a good distance away. Much panting later, Scootaloo asked, trying to look brave, but failing. “What was that?”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said nothing, except for the way their head got shaked. It did not leave much to question. All three looked behind themselves, to check if that... thing had followed. They let out a collective sigh as they saw it hadn’t, much to their relief.
“... Wait... That spell worked!”, Scootaloo yelled out. All three looked at their flanks to see...
Nothing?
“Gosh darnit!”, Apple Bloom groaned loudly. There were STILL no cutie marks to be seen today, it seemed.
“Okay...”, Sweetie Belle began. “Silver lining, we can FINALLY go home... It’s almost dark...”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both looked at each other with the exact same looks. “My sister is going to kill me!”, The unicorn filly said in terror.
“So is mine!”, The earth pony filly joined in on her horror.
Scootaloo just remained kind of indifferent.
With a final goodbye, the three fillies spilt. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom left running while Scootaloo just trotted off slowly.
They all had completely let the information about the thing in their clubhouse slip their minds. Their tired minds could not hold it present anymore.
Speaking of which...
The creature, or rather, the human man looked after the small horses run off, scared and hollering like a dying rooster. He dusted his dark grey, duster that was dirtier than it should have been. He then crouched a little and reached to take off his as dirty, but just as fancy top hat. He wore smooth, dark gloves on his hands, also dirty.
No part of his body was uncovered. Clothing and long, raven black hair that reached his lower back hid everything.
It should also be noted that his apparel was, let’s be honest, filthy like a businesman's backpocket.
He looked at his hat, now crumpled and not as fancy as before.
“Hmmm... Hmmm...”, He hummed. “... I seem to have crumpled my head accessory. A shame.”, He said dryly in an overly posh manner.
...
Wait, wasn’t there some little horses here just a second ago? He looked back at the door outside and the cloud of dust that still persisted of the panic induced escape.
“Hmmm... Hmmm...”, He hummed again before looking around. Then he spoke, the posh tone gone. “... Where the hell is my cane?”
Only one knows the answer.
The only one who knows it all from the start.
The one who thrives in anonymity.
The one who hides his being...
Behind the mask.