Anon and the Happy Mask Salesman - Chapter 8

>The air was heavy with the scent of sweat.
>The reptile had since decided that rather than stay in his bed and watch the two of you, he’d instead enjoy actually getting some sleep. So he left down to the basement, where he would be able to sleep without having to hear the two of you.
>You, on the other hand, were completely spent.
>The two of you were resting on the bed now, Twilight curled up to your side.
>Was it being stranded in this world that convinced you to go through with this?
>Or was it the fact that she was human?
>Would you have done what you did if she were a pony?
>It’s too late to be asking yourself those questions. But one thing is clear.
>You just got some. And damn, did you enjoy it.
>She curls up tighter next to you, her body warming yours as you two lay there on the bed.
>”Mmm~… hey, Anon, how was it?” she asks, looking up at you.
>You smile down at her, pressing your lips softly to her forehead.
“Wonderful.”
>She smiles back, moving so that her head rested on your chest as the two of you continued staring into each other’s eyes, relishing in the silence between you.
>”…We should probably get up,” she says at last, breaking the tranquility the two of you had.
>You smile and nod, slowly sitting up, holding her slender figure in your arms as you do so.
>She grins, giving you a peck on the cheek before hopping up, walking down the steps while swaying her hips back and forth with the happiest smile on her face that you’ve seen.
>You stand as well, grabbing your clothes and slipping into them, before walking down the stairs behind her.
>She walks over and knocks on the basement door. “Spike, it’s time to wake up!” she exclaims in a fairly calm tone, before walking over to you. “So, what would you like for breakfast, hm?”
>You remember how they reacted when you said you liked bacon.
>You’re NOT going to make that same mistake twice.
“Hm… do you happen to have waffles in this world?”
>She ponders this for a moment. “Hm… no, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. What are they?”
>You get a grin across your face.
>Oh, you’re about to rock her world with this.
“Here, I’ll show you. Where’s the kitchen?”
>”Right over here,” she says, leading you to it. “What do you need?”
“Alright. I need flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, vanilla…”
>You go over the list of supplies, while Twilight swiftly moves through the cupboards, grabbing each item and placing it on the counter.
“Next, I need an ice-cube tray, and an iron. We’re gonna have to improvise a bit on the cooking since I assume ponies don’t have waffle irons.”
>She nods, pulling out an ice-cube tray and quickly running into the basement to get an iron.
>Spike comes walking in sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “Ugh… hm, what’s going on?” he asks, turning to look up at you.
“Making waffles.”
>”Making wha…?”
“Delicious tasty waffles.”
>He shrugs, climbing up onto the counter. “Anything you need me to help with?”
“Do you cook?”
>”Yup! I help make breakfast every day!”
>You nod, handing him all of the cooking supplies and quickly running through all of the measurements you remembered in your head.
“I need you to get me one and three-fourths cup flour, two tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon baking powder, two eggs-”
>”Um, maybe just one at a time?” he asks, his head spinning a bit trying to register all of the numbers.
>You nod quickly, taking the supplies from him and arranging them onto the counter.
“Alright, first we need to get a large bowl and mix all of the dry ingredients into it.”
>”Check!” he exclaims, bringing you a fairly good-sized bowl and spoon.
“Nice.”
>You proceed to measure and dump all of the dry items into the bowl and stir them around a bit while giving the next instruction.
“Next, we need to dump the wet ingredients into a separate bowl and beat them until they’re mixed together.”
>”Got it!” he gives you a thumbs-up with his claw, before scurrying off to get another bowl.
>Twilight comes in just as he leaves, carrying a fairly large clothes iron with her. “Got the iron!” she exclaims, putting it onto the counter.
>You ponder for a moment why ponies would need such a tool, but decide not to question it much.
“Alright. Spike’s gone off to get another bowl; we’re going to mix all of these together soon.”
>”Sounds like a plan,” she grins at you. “What exactly are we going to do when we cook it?”
“Well, because we don’t have a proper waffle iron, I’m going to improvise a bit. Could you use your magic to mold the batter into a disk-shape?”
>She nods. “I can, but that would mean that my human form would have to disappear,” she says.
>Damn, you have to choose, Anon.
>Human, or waffles?
>…
>Silence between you two.
>”…I can change back right after.”
“Yeah… do that.”
>She giggles and snaps her fingers, causing a purple aura to slowly form around her, before a large, bright light shimmers from her body as it transforms back into its pony self.
>You have to shield your eyes from it, but it only lasts a few seconds.
>”Alright, let’s do this,” she says, just as Spike returns with another bowl.
>You nod, taking the bowl and pouring the rest of the ingredients into it.
“You have an egg beater anywhere?”
>Twilight nods, levitating the utensil over to you.
>You proceed to beat the hell out of the mixture until it was all one color.
“Next up we combine the two.”
>Twilight nods, her horn glowing and hovering the bowl of wet ingredients into the air, before slowly pouring the mixture into the larger bowl with the dry ingredients.
“We’ll need to mix them until-”
>”Allow me,” Twilight grins up at you, her horn glowing a bit more intensely.
>Almost instantly, the mixture in the bowl began to swirl together, slowly getting faster with each circulation.
>You step back as Twilight concentrates on her spell, the glow slowly becoming more and more intense as the mixture spun faster.
“Alright, Twilight, I think that’s enough…”
>…No response. She continues to spin the mixture.
“Twilight, I said that’s eno-”
>You turn to look at her, and you notice something a lot weirder about her.
>She has no pupils.
>…Or iris, for that matter.
>Just blank, white eyes.
>And the glow continues to get stronger.
>”HIT THE DECK!” Spike exclaims, diving under a nearby chair as small pieces of the batter start shooting off in random directions.
>You do the same, and just in time;
>It’s not even two seconds later that the entire room explodes in delicious batter-y goodness.

“…What happened?”
>You slowly stand up, your entire backside covered in sticky, pale-white liquid.
>Spike peeks out from under the chair. “Is it safe to come out now?”
>You nod at him, and both of you walk over to Twilight.
“Hey, you alright?”
>She’s not moving.
>…
“…Okay Twilight, that’s enough messing around, let’s get this cleaned up…”
>Still no movement.
>”C’mon Twilight, let’s go!” Spike exclaims, walking up and shaking her.
>Still nothing.
>…
“…Twilight?”

>The day before…
>”Wow, that was so scary… but I’m proud of myself,” a quiet, timid voice mutters, hidden from sight. “I finally became more assertive! I showed him!” she exclaims, holding up the fruits of her work.
>A large, heart-shaped mask with four spines on the sides, and one on the top curve.
>”Now, what exactly is it…? Some kind of mask?” she asks no one in particular, peering at the intricate markings, before stopping at the eyes.
>”Maybe…” she mutters, turning it around and placing the mask on her head. “Heehee! It’s a bit big, but-”
>She never even finished the sentence.
>Everything went silent, save for the wind rushing through the treetops.
>”…Kehehe…”
>The masked pony quickly dashes off into the forest, disappearing with a mischievous chuckle.

>End Chapter 8