-Released- (The Pale Mask, Chapter 1)
The Arcana's Prophecy
Arc I - "The Pale Mask"
Chapter 1 - "First Signs"
It's a rather windy night, in the dark blanket of sleep in ponyville. In fact, it the last night until october, the nightmare night season or as you guys know it as, halloween, which was originally called hallow's eve. Yet, ya never celebrate november the first as "hallow's day" or something like that, but i progress.
"Hey-" an orange said in a drunken state"-I think you are a perty stallion."
"Ya, and you will add another child in the local orphanage if-" The stallion responded before realizing it's a) not spring, so there's no way his fiance is in heat and b) a mare only gets pregnant in her heat. So even she did seduce him, it would still not matter either way, and basically made himself an idiot saying that.
"Hey, you can't tell me how much secks i can have," The mare once named scootaloo, but now goes by the name 'Grace Dancer' muttered.
"Please at least try to have some sense," the stallion, once named Orion and now named Guard Glory.
Meanwhile, while that scene goes on, which will be important for later, Zecora the Zebra entered the building. I would note she's now goes for an anything rhymes manner of speaking rather than iambic pentameter due to ponies messing up her accent, specifically, her speech pattern. So, if you have any questions about her speaking pattern here, that's why.
"I am glad as well Twilight,
to be joining you this night.
“I do not come by as often as I’d like,
but then again the trip here is quite the hike.
"It is quite nice to step out of my home,
though I do not know why this party was thrown.
"I Welcome my presence to one and all,
For the celebration of the season of fall.
"So the town uses a party to start the season of night,
to get us all in the mood for a fright," Said Zecora in a poem-like speech pattern.
"How's it going Zecora," Said a certain purple alicorn princess. Zecora told her that it was rather difficult to navigate since she hasn't gone into the castle of ponyville for awhile. It seems the place has been rather updated during that time.
“Yep. Now please, come in and let me give you the quick tour,” Twilight said, motioning for Zecora to follow her before pointing around the room. “We’ve got some music and dancing over there, the buffet table is over there by the fireplace, and Pinkie Pie set up a bunch of fun games down in the sixth floor's third room from the entrance from downstares. In fact, she was looking for somepony to play a game with her not too long ago.”
Zecora smiled and turned towards the basement staircase. “If a challenge is Pinkie’s desire, then I shall gladly be her supplier.”
“All right, have fun,” Twilight said before going back to the library door to greet another set of guests. As Zecora made her way across the room, she received warm greetings from a number of ponies. Zecora gladly returned each greeting with a warm smile and the occasional laugh. Still, the zebra did not allow herself to become swayed from her path, keeping her course focused until she passed through the basement door and began descending the stairs.
Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Zecora saw the full extent of the games that had been setup. There was Pin the Tail on the Pony, but in proper Nightmare Night spirit there were other games too. She saw a barrel filled with green water and apples, perfect for bobbing, as well as a game of Spider Toss.
“Hey there, Zecora, I’m so glad you could make it,” a familiar, energetic voice chirped. Zecora turned at the sound of the voice to see Pinkie Pie bouncing in her direction. “You don’t come to nearly enough of my parties, but that’s okay because when you do come it’s so much fun!”
“I do not come by as often as I’d like,
but then again the trip here is quite the hike," said zecora, repeating a bit from earlier.
Pinkie Pie came to a stop beside the zebra. “Well, yeah, that’s because you live all the way out in the Everfree Forest. Why do you live out there anyway?”
“The forest provides rare herbs, roots, and moss, without which I would be at quite a loss.”
“Oh, okay, that sounds like a good reason to me,” Pinkie Pie said with a bounce. The pink party pony then got very serious. She furrowed her eyebrows and put a hoof on Zecora’s chest. “Oh, and I just remembered, you and I have a score to settle.”
A confident smile formed Zecora’s lips as she met Pinkie Pie’s serious stare with her own. “Is this truly a path you wish to pursue? Because I will show no mercy in round two.”
Pinkie Pie nodded, zipping away and returning with a box held in her teeth. “Pick your color,” she mumbled out around the box in her mouth.
“The color I choose is white,” Zecora announced before she reached into the box and bit down on something. When she drew her head back, the zebra gently held a pin in her mouth, attached to which was a white colored paper pony tail, “for I shall not lose this night.”
Pinkie Pie huffed, taking Zecora’s challenge seriously as she went around the room to find more ponies for the game. Soon, a half dozen guests were gathered in front of one wall in the library’s basement, on which hung a poster of a pony that was missing its tail and had a small ‘X’ on its flank. It was a game of Pin the Tail on the Pony, and Pinkie Pie was out to reclaim her title as Ponyville champion from Zecora.
The rest of the ponies took their turns before Zecora and Pinkie Pie. Some managed to pin their paper tails close to the ‘X’. Others weren’t as successful. Their tails ended up on the nose, hooves, and eyes of the pony on the poster. By the time Pinkie Pie’s turn finally came around, a small crowd had gathered. “You aren't going to beat me this time, Zecora,” Pinkie Pie said as she was blindfolded. “I’ve been practicing.”
Zecora allowed herself a single chuckle. “First you should pin your tail upon the wall; then we’ll see who shall be the one to fall.”
With a huff, Pinkie Pie gave a nod, signaling that she was ready to be spun. Yet, despite the disorienting spin, Pinkie Pie was able to make a beeline for the poster. She placed her pink, paper pony tail and pushed the pin in as deep as it would go before she stepped back and removed her blindfold. Once Pinkie Pie registered how well she had done, a broad smile exploded onto her lips. She somersaulted back over to Zecora and pointed a proud hoof at the poster.
“HA! Bulls-eye!” Pinkie Pie boasted while the other ponies playing cheered. Zecora, however, seem unfazed and maintained her confident smile. She was blindfolded and spun while Pinkie Pie’s tail was removed from the poster so that she would have an equal chance to hit the bulls-eye.
Still, after Zecora was spun, she did not walk forward towards the poster. She instead shifted her stance ever so slightly and brought her head back to one side. She then swung her head forward and threw her pin, with the attached paper tail, into the air.
All eyes in the crowd watched as the tail arched through the air, and gasped when the pin stuck to the posters directly on the ‘X’. It was a perfect bulls-eye.
“How... how did you?” Pinkie Pie asked as Zecora removed her blindfold with a proud smile.
“You’ve practiced, Pinkie Pie... Well, in truth, so have I.”
"He-Hello everyp-*hiccups*-Everypony, i want to play pony the pin, too," said a certain drunk dancer.
"You really shouldn't, Grace," said Glory.
"You can't tell me what to do, playcolt," said Grace in a rather raunchy manner.
"Pick which color," said Pinkie.
"Please, don't play grace, the last time you played pin the pony while drunk, you have to pay for the repairs of 3 tables," said Glory.
Brief silence fills the air.
"The red one...." said Grace hesitantly due to her drunken state.
"Please don't break anything," mumbled Glory.
“You sure about this, Scootaloo? I mean... you’re not really good at this game, even if you are sober” Pinkie Pie noted, remembering a time when Grace pinned the tail on somepony’s flank.
“Hey, don’t worry, I got this. I’ll even spin myself.” With that Grace hopped into the air, and used her wings to spin herself into a twister. Then, after spinning herself around at least a dozen times, Grace stopped and wavered in the air before smiling.
“All right, watch as I pin this tail right on that poster.”
“But Dancer-” Pinkie Pie tried to warn. Still, her words came too late. Grace "Scootaloo" Dancer soared forward in the completely wrong direction. With a loud crash, Grace collided with the basement’s chandelier and then dove straight into the Bobbing for Apples barrel. The impact caused a huge splash, which sent green tinted water and apples flying everywhere. The floor, ceiling, walls, books, and party guests were all doused in the liquid.
A party guest lifted his hoof out of a puddle with a grimace.
“What is with this water? Why is it sticky?
“Oh, that’s because it’s green apple punch,” Pinkie Pie answered happily as she lifted some of her drenched mane away from her face.
“I mean, what’s more fun than bobbing for apples in green apple punch?”
“Whoa, what happened down here?” Twilight asked, she and Rarity standing at the top of the basement staircase, overlooking the disastrous mess.
Zecora tossed her head in an attempt to shake off some of the green apple punch.
“A disaster, both sticky and wet,
and to think the night isn’t over yet.”
“Oh... it will take forever to clean all of this,” Twilight groaned before turning her head to the basement door.
“Spike, bring the-”
“Oh, Twilight, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” Rarity offered politely.
“You will?”
Rarity gave a nod.
“I might remind you that you aren’t the only unicorn around. I just happen to know a little spell that can take care of all this. It’s a little something I learned after Sweetie Belle accidentally spilled several gallons of grape juice in my boutique some years ago.”
“Several gallons? How did she-” Said the alicorn, as Twilight cocked an eyebrow.
“Don’t ask,” Rarity interrupted.
“Okay... but are you sure you can clean all this up?”
“Oh, of course,” Rarity chuckled confidently.
“All it takes is a flick of my horn and...” With that she tossed her head as a wave of light burst out from her horn. The spell washed over the entire room, doing nothing at first. Yet, once it began to recede, the spell drew up the punch and condensed the spilled liquid into a single floating sphere near Rar’s head.
Twilight looked about the once again dry room, impressed at the spell’s results.
“Wow, Rarity, you have to teach me that!”
“I’d be happy to, Twilight, especially since you’ll probably be able to get more use out of it than I can. This spell just takes a little too much out of me to use it regularly,”
Rarity answered wearily as she inspected the sphere of collected green apple punch and took note of the dust and black soot that her spell had also gathered.
“Now, where is the nearest sink so I can dispose of-”
It was at this moment the lights all around the library went out, causing a few panicked screams as well as a resounding splash. The darkness didn’t last for long. The candles and oil lamps regained their flames quickly, and the library was once again filled with light. The sudden and short lived darkness left almost every party guest mumbling in concern and confusion.
It also left Rarity shaking, though not in fear. In the moment of sudden darkness, she lost her concentration on her spell, dropped the sphere of liquid, and drenched herself with the sticky punch. Breathing tensely through her nose, Rarity struggled not to scream as the green apple punch dripped off her coat, mane, and tail.
“Twilight... bathtub... now!”
Rarity’s words snapped Twilight out of her own daze. She looked to the lights, wondering why they had gone out, but then shook her head and focused on Rarity.
“Of... of course, Rarity, just follow me upstairs.”
Soon, most of the party goers went back to their games, food, and dancing. But, unaware to them, a phantom presence lurks in the castle. It's only recently that it's able to see outside the prison it's held inside. And that's only because it's created extensions of itself to serve as it's eyes and ears of the outside world.
"They are lucky," it thought, as one of it's "extensions", as the being refers them as, watches.
They had things it lacks that itself once had. The ability to touch. The ability to smell. The ability to taste. The ability to hear. The ability to touch. The ability to emote. The ability to feel compassion. The ability to have a soul. But no, it will always be trapped in that chest until it gets a lead on how to get out of it's predicament.
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word.
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat
And if that billy goat won't pull,
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull
And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover
And if that dog named Rover won't bark
Papa's gonna buy you a horse and cart
And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."
