Anon and the Happy Mask Salesman - Chapter 12

>Damn, that pony was right. You can easily tell which way her cottage is.
>You see the edge of the forest in the distance as you continue running across the roads, while buildings and foliage are in complete ruin all the way to the outskirts of town.
>In the distance, you see a small cottage that has been ruined and now has an eerie aura coming from it.
>It’s as if the very presence of evil itself was emanating from it.
>…Probably because that’s where that pony with the mask was.
>You manage to get up to the bridge in front of the cottage, crouching down to where you were out of sight as you surveyed the area.
>It didn’t look like she was outside at all.
>Great.
>That means you have to go INSIDE the cottage…
>This doesn’t give you many chances of escape should it become a necessity.
>You sigh, and take a moment to gather yourself.
>No fear, Anonymous.
>You hope that whatever god is watching over your sorry ass gives you the strength needed to protect them.
>Twilight… and Spike…
>You stand after a few moments, and begin walking the final distance between you and the cottage.

>”Ohoho… he’s off to confront that little demon… now for the real show,” a mysterious onlooker watches from the forest, a grin plastered onto his red-haired head.
>”If I can only get that mask back… I’ll no longer have a need for this world. I just keep moving on… Ho ho ho ho…”

>This is it.
>You reach your hand forward, and you slowly push the already-ajar door open to a dark, deserted room.
>You slowly take a step inside, and quickly notice things that are immediately different about this place than what you remember seeing when you first caught a glimpse of it when arriving in Ponyville.
>For one thing… the stench of something foul reeks in this place. You can’t put your finger on exactly what it is, though.
>You make note of that as you continue walking through the house.
>You return to the living room after making a full sweep of the house, making sure not to trip on any unhinged boards or hit your head on loose pipes.
>…It doesn’t look like she’s in he-
>”Hello, Anonymous. So glad you could join us.”
>Well. Looks like she was hiding in the dark of the corner.
>She’s standing between you and the doorway. Just wonderful.
>”Did you bring the power I sensed, like you promised?”
>You smirk, doing your absolute best to keep your cool.
“Wouldn’t you just sense it on me anyway?”
>The pony thinks for a moment, and then nods. “I suppose I just wanted to hear it escape your lips first,” she says, walking forward. “Now then. Hand it over.”
>You nod, kneeling down and reaching into your bag.
>You can almost feel the aura coming off of this pony. It’s… horrifying.
>You’re just about to pull it out, when both of you are distracted by a blinding flash of light.
>”That is enough. I will not tolerate this any longer,” a commanding voice echoes around both of you.
>The masked pony’s gaze is transfixed on the bright light as two large, pristine figures emerge from it.
>One is a white pony, with both a horn and wings. She’s wearing a golden crown and other various adornments, and her mane flows as if all of the sun’s rays were stored within her. On her flank, a large sun-shaped marking is clearly visible as the light slowly diminishes.
>The other pony has darker fur, and her eyes and mane are a glowing blue, as if made from the night sky itself. She wears similar adornments to the white pony, however rather than gold, they are a black, almost onyx color.
>”We will not stand idly while you continue to harm the ponies of this land,” the white one speaks once again, this time her horn glowing a golden aura, illuminating the living room in its glow.
>The masked pony is visibly shaking now. “No… no no no no! I WILL NOT BE UNDONE!” she yells, and lets out an ear-shattering shriek as she levitates in the air, the entire room shaking as the powers within it clash against each other.
>”There is no stopping it. You are powerless against us,” the darker pony shouts, as her horn glows a bright cobalt blue, before both ponies launch two large, powerful beams of light at the mask, hitting it square in the center as it lets out its shrill cries.
>You’re completely shocked at the sight you’re seeing; who were these two ponies? Were they the two ponies that Twilight told you about?
>…Twilight…
>You knew what you had to do.
>Unfortunately, the power crackling within the air was preventing you from doing any sort of action, lest you be sent flying back into a nearby wall or worse… through one.
>You didn’t like the prospect of being impaled by nail planks.
>You decided that it was probably in the best interests of everyone that you didn’t get involved at this point. You didn’t need to worry the two princesses any more than they already were.
>”What?!” the darker one exclaims, her eyes widening.
>The mask, it was… pushing them back?
>What the hell was going on?
>”Kehehe… You’ll have to do better than that, princesses…” a darker, much more sinister voice echoes around the room, as the gold and dark blue beams of energy were slowly pushed back to their sources.
>The white pony’s eyes are wide with surprise. “But… how? How did you do that?”
>”I have powers that you could never even fathom, Princess Celestia.”
>Alright, the white one is Celestia, which means the darker one is Luna…
>”As a matter of fact…” the masked pony laughs, landing on her hooves. “Why don’t I show you?” she exclaims, stamping her hoof on the ground, cracking the floor under it.
>There is silence for a few moments.
>…And then you feel low rumbling.
>”If you know the legend, you should know what is happening,” the masked pony says, chuckling to herself as the rumbling slowly becomes louder and more intense.
>Luna’s eyes widen, and she looks up to the ceiling. “No!” she exclaims, as the rumbling gets to a point where part of the roof caves in, and you’re staring wide eyed at the massive expanse that is…
>…the moon.

>It… can’t be…
>It’s the moon, and yet… it’s not.
>The same orange, ghastly eyes that are on the mask are plastered onto the moon’s demonic expression.
>”Ha ha HAH! If it’s something that can be stopped, then just try and stop it!” the masked pony exclaims, laughing in hysterics as the three of you stare blankly at the moon as it comes barreling down towards the center of town.
>”No, I won’t allow this!” Luna exclaims, and her horn glows a bright cobalt blue once again, her body straining under the immense power she is exerting herself against. “Won’t… let it… happen…”
>You decide that now is the time to act.
>With the masked pony’s attention focused on the two alicorns, you quickly charge her, taking hold of the mask.
>You hear a blood-curdling scream as you rip the mask from her face, pushing her to the ground and throwing the mask as far as you can away from you.
>The yellow pegasus that was under its control looks up at you with the same orange-sclera eyes as before, glaring up at you with her eyes fully open and bloodshot as she cries out in pain, before fainting under you.
>…
>No movement, but she is breathing. That’s good. One problem out of the way.
>Now, to focus on the moon.
>You turn and notice that both Celestia and Luna are both focused completely on the moon now, using both of their magics to hold it back.
>They’ve managed to slow it, but you know they can’t keep it up forever…
>”We will try to get closer to it, sister, and see if that does not help!” Luna exclaims, flying out of the house in the direction of the giant moon.
>Celestia’s eyes slowly wander to you, and she smiles. “Thank you, creature, for all of your help. I honestly don’t think we could have done this without you,” she says, walking over, her horn still glowing its golden aura.
>You smile and bow your head.
“You’re Princess Celestia, aren’t you? Twilight Sparkle told me a lot about you.”
>She nods. “So then you have befriended my student, the Element of Magic?” she asks.
>You nod.
>She smiles, lowering her head down to you. “Then come with us. We still may need your help,” she says.
>Your eyes widen, but you do not falter; not here.
“Oh, wait, almost forgot.”
>You quickly run over and pick up the mask you pulled off of the pegasus earlier.
>This was the mask that caused so much strife.
>You weren’t going to let it cause any more.
>Time to go stop moonfall.

>End Chapter 12