//------------------------------// // Equestria's personal secret // Story: Ponysona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth // by Tythen //------------------------------// "Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant."-Lucius Annaeus Seneca The land of Equestria. It's a beautiful magical land inhabited by many numbers of ponies ruled over by 4 kind, just and beautiful princesses. It's a land of such peace between the ponies and the many other creatures who never harmed a single pony. Sure, there has been some incidents through life that nearly shook Equestria to disaster, but a group of 6 friends were able to beat back any enemy that tried to threaten their land. From then onwards, Equestria maintained and earned a rightful peace-time period. However... There is a certain creature unlike the manticore and cockatrice. This monster does not mind its own business, not at all. These monsters are dark and malevolent as an individual's inner thoughts, because that is what they are, a malevolent manifestation born of a pony's inner thoughts: a shadow. Carrying the negative emotions of a pony, these shadows are savage and berserk and their existence is to bring destruction to anything and anypony in their way with the only thing stopping them is their own kind. But... When ponies are able to control their feelings and emotions, what manifests is similar to a shadow, but tamed and trained, this tamed shadow manifests into a purer form and body: A persona. Carrying the balanced emotions of a pony, Personas are loyal and sentient and their existence is to protect and defend its host with their lives while weighing its host's willpower and spirit. There are only a few number of ponies who are able to have the psyche and willpower to invoke a persona or confront and accept their own shadow, thus manifesting into a persona. There exists a team of ponies who are able to invoke their personas. It is known as the Specialised Operational Eradication Society or SOES for short known only to the Princesses and the Wonderbolts. Their mission is to defend the land of Equestria against the army of shadows and to exterminate any "Shadow Nests". This team is led by the unicorn Rarity, a representation of the element of generosity and one of the 6 ponies that were known for defeating the villains that threaten Equestria. However, the team's most devoted and prized member that mostly led the team in the field of battle was Soarin, a member of the Wonderbolts. Every member of their team is able to "invoke" their persona by shooting themselves in the head with a special gun called an evoker. Unbeknownst to the SOES however, there is yet another group that can summon their personas, also known by the princesses and the captain of the royal guard, Shining Armor instead of the Wonderbolts. The secret squadron's goal is to investigate the existence of the shadows and to apprehend any ponies who seem to use the shadows for their own means, more so, to search for the real truth and 'rid' the world of lies and curses. Their mission and work has given them the name of the Royal Investigation Division or RID for short. Although under authority of the Royal Guard Captain, this group is led by the Captain's lieutenant and second-in-command Flash Sentry. Unlike the SOES, members of this team summon their personas using a special tarot card stored in their hearts. At the time of need, the tarot card will materialise on their hooves on which they are able to shatter in order to summon their persona. Now, how are these ponies able to beat back the shadows with their Personas? And how can their personas get stronger? The answer, no matter how simple it may be, is friendship or more specifically, social links between ponies. These bonds of connection can be enable Persona users to initiate stronger persona attacks and create stronger personas. Social Links are not just created through Persona-users, they can be created through Persona-user's relationships with their loved ones. Through friendship, the bonds of ponies is the true power. Just like how the 6 heroes of Equestria did it. But life and fate will throw them a task... Where their destiny will be sent to a place... Beyond what they could ever imagine... The first thing Flash saw when he opened his eyes was that he was in a room that he has seen many times. Blue seats, a cupboard full of wine glasses with a few bottles of wine, the entire room resembling a limo, and the singing of a singular opera voice with an ominous piano accompaniment, he was sure of it. He was once again in the Velvet Room. "Welcome to the Velvet Room." A majestic voice welcomed him. Flash turned to the direction of the voice to see that he was in the presence of Princess Celestia. "Princess." Flash remembered his manners and bowed "No need to be so obedient now..." Celestia replied giving the signal to arise "as I'm sure you already know, the Velvet Room exists in dream and reality, mind and matter at the same time. Spiritual and physical realms come together." Flash nodded "Anyway, the reason thy presence is here is because we have to tell you something." Luna briefed to Soarin in a large elevator that is endlessly ascending. The elevator contains a table, chair and a few doors, this place is also known as the velvet room. "It seems thy current fate or destiny is... Affected." "How?" Soarin asked "There has been an 'incident' that caused your fate to be altered a little bit according to what I have read. Apparently, that's enough in order to intertwine with the fate or destiny of another pony. I wonder who it might be?" "Hmm..." Flash wondered "No... It's not the friends thou already fight with." Luna added "It's someone else. Try to listen to my words." At that order, Soarin closed his eyes and focused as hard as he can. Without any effort, he can hear a faint voice coming from behind Luna's words... "You didn't really need our help after all... That's not a big surprise coming from you, even from way back." The voice said. Soarin immediately recognised who that voice was. Although he has seem him occasionally, is it really that pony who's fate he'll be intertwining with? "No way..." Flash answered as he heard that voice "Soarin? What does he have to do with this? What does he have to do with me?" "Hmm... I'm afraid that will come at a later time..." Celestia sighed then asked "but, you can feel the power too right? Can you sense that something, or somepony is in the middle of all this, pulling both your fates together?" Flash nodded in response. "Well" Celestia chuckled "all these converging threads are very curious. I look forward to see how both of your threads of fate intertwine with each other. Stay well and good luck." Celestia and Luna waved to their respective hosts before Flash and Soarin blacked out. In the residence of Flash's parents, Flash woke up from his bedroom in the morning. Looking at the calendar, it was the 30th day of October, the final day of the Equestrian Cultural Festival held in Ponyville. Apart from the usual guard duties and security of this festival, he remembered that he ran a stall with a few of his friends so he instantly hurried down to the kitchen. "Right!!! All done!" A familiar voice called out, it was First Base, making some fried eggs on the frying pan. First Base is Flash's younger brother and goes to Cheerilee's school with the CMC. He doesn't really hang out with the young girls since he already has his cutie mark, and likes to play baseball with his other friends. However, when they became orphans, First and his sister learnt to take care of themselves and both do a hard work taking care of the house like his parents did, until their big brother Flash returned from the Crystal Empire. Flash could smell the eggs frying on the stove. "Good morning big bro!!!" First Base greeted as he saw his brother "Miss Cheerilee said that you should always eat breakfast properly in the morning! But all I know on what to cook is to boil veggies and fry eggs! So here are some fried sunny-side eggs along with this tamagoyaki egg roll dish from that recipe you've brought from Neighpon!" But as he looked back to the dish, the special egg rolls have been burnt "oh whoops!!! I've left it there for too long!" Flash thought for a moment on what to say, is it still delicious even if it's burnt? Or maybe let's cut off the burnt bits? He made a decision. "Don't worry, we can take off the burnt bits." Flash comforted "Yeah, you're right. Miss Cheerilee said that the burnt bits are bad for your health." First remembered "however, I do remember your tales in the field, you eat anything that you can find. No matter what condition the quality of the food is. Oh well. Let's eat!!!" As the two brothers were happily eating breakfast. "Wow! The egg roll really is delicious! You really know what recipe to pick!" First complimented to which Flash shrugged. As they continued on eating, the doorbell rang. "Oh! It seems we have a visitor!" Flash noted as he opened the door revealing a mint green unicorn. "Greetings!" The unicorn bowed. This is Lyra Heartstrings. She is a very talented lyre player as her name and cutie mark would prove, but her dark secret is that she has a fetish for humans and strives to act like them, this counts as "being weird" through society's eyes and she had a fear of not being accepted for what she is. Though no matter how humiliating and suffering it is to face the truth about herself, she has learnt to accept what she is and so did her friends and colleagues. "Oh! Miss Heartstrings! Good morning!" First greeted back "Sorry about coming here sir." Lyra apologised "you see, Bonbon made a load of boxed lunches and she's been hounding me to bring it to the culture festival for her cause she can't come due to work. I thought I'd like to stop just to ask that if you can also share the load with me? I hope it won't be a problem with all the other things you're carrying." Flash inspected the boxes, it was surprisingly massive and Lyra apparently seemed to be carrying a load that is too taxing to her levitation magic. So many boxes! No wonder why Lyra needs all this help. "Well" First piped up "since we're currently eating breakfast right now, I hope Miss Bonbon won't mind if we could try some right now, no? Why don't you join us then?" "Huh?" Lyra blushed with fear "W-Well... I hope you like what she's made then!" So as the three opened a box each, Flash immediately identified the contents: A stewed dish with an assortment of rice, egg, vegetables, seaweed wrap and... A certain simmered dish that Flash had no idea what it is. "S-Sorry about the dish." Lyra apologised "but all the food looks a bit... Brown." But the brothers tasted the marvelous dish. "Wow!" First complimented "It tastes delicious! BonBon's really great at cooking!" "Y-You really think so?" Lyra smiled "then that's great! You see, one part of the dish is made by me. That simmered stuff." "Woah! You can cook as well Lyra?" First was amazed "not only just playing the Lyre? You can do anything! Maybe you could try and make those other foreign recipes Flash brought back from overseas! You know, when I grow up, I don't want to be just a baseball player, I also want to be a brilliant cook like you! Big Si... I mean Miss Lyra!" Flash immediately heard this correction and asked "Big Sis Lyra?" Flash whispered with an arched eyebrow "Big Sis Lyra..." First repeated and laughed a little. "W-WOAH!!!" Lyra jumped unsure on what she was just called "what are you talking about!?" As Flash was watching his little brother laugh, a certain sound reached his ears to which he looked up, the sound of a bell from was ringing out. "Hey big bro, that reminds me." First asked as he saw Flash spaced out "Isn't today the last day of the Ponyville cultural festival? Aren't you going to be late for your stall management?" It seems that First did not hear the bell. "Oh!" Lyra gasped "that's right! It's already that time! We're REALLY late now! Come on Flash! We've got to run our stall!" "Know any fast routes there?" Flash asked "Let's see." Lyra remembered "we could take this path... Go over those fences..." And Lyra kept talking about her special route as Flash and First listened closely. "Lyra..." First gasped "you are so smart and sneaky like a thief!!!" "Well uh..." Lyra started in case First gets the wrong idea. "That is so cool!" First exclaimed "Oh!" Lyra replied embarrassed "well um... Heh heh... You flatter me..." Then turned her attention to Flash "hey Flash!!! Say something will you!?" Flash just chuckled Meanwhile, at the entrance of a certain tower... "Oh come on!!! I can't believe we have to miss the last day of the Ponyville culture festival!" Moaned a Cyan pony with a Rainbow Mane. This is Rainbow Dash, the representation of the element of loyalty. She's a very agile pegasus and sometimes a bit of an arrogant pony. Apart from being a small practical joker, she is a diligent and loyal member of the SOES. "Don't worry Rainbow." A earth pony comforted "there is always next year! Besides, I've made sure I indirectly participated by getting Lyra to sell a special dish that both of us made together!!!" This earth pony is called Sweetie Drops or as she prefers to be called, Bonbon. She is Lyra's roommate and closest friend. Despite getting along with Lyra's annoying fetish of humans, she has learnt to be tolerant towards others. Reluctant and a little scared of her role in SOES, she managed to overcome her fear of shadows. "Well... She doesn't know about your "actual" job?" A shy voice asked "It's not my actual job! That's making sweets! I'm sure you know that!" Bonbon retorted "Right... My apologies for that... I'm also sorry for getting all of you here... There's a big shadow abnormality in the tower today." The shy voice continued from a yellow coloured pegasus. This is Fluttershy, representative of the element of kindness and an extremely shy pony. She may have been bullied quite a lot and she is not that tough. However, she plays the utmost important role of tactically supporting the SOES team in battle or when exploring the tower. "It is a shame, but we must defend this abnormality of shadows from attacking the land, or else there will be no more cultural festivals." A white coloured unicorn with a stylish purple mane strictly stated. This white unicorn is Rarity, the representative of the element of generosity and the leader of the SOES. She leads the fight with grace, style, swiftness and beautiful skills of execution. She can also pull a lot of drama with the team or in battle. "Ah think that's a bit cold Rarity," a voice with a southern accent replied "but seriously, this is very strange. Do you think it's another one of them greater shadows?" This orange mare is Applejack, a rough farmer who relies on her hooves. She represents the element of Honesty. She is very protective of her friends and especially her family, such as her younger sister Applebloom. "It's not a full moon yet though..." A big pony noted. This pony is Big Macintosh, Applejack's older brother. He's very silent, but he has a big heart. "I am detecting certain shadow activity... Doesn't seem normal. "A unicorn filly analysed. This is Sweetie Belle, Rarity's younger sister and part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders (CMC). Since she was very young and could not use her magic properly, she would normally be kept out of the shadow fighting business. But due to a stray attack by shadows, all but her mind were severely damaged with no chance of recovery. Desperate to save her sister's life, Rarity and her parents agreed to donate what's left of Sweetie to one of Luna's secret projects, in order to give her a second chance in life. As her mind was still intact, the only thing that needed replacing was her entire physical body structure where a successful operation was guaranteed. Happy to have her family member back, Rarity learnt about what comes with her sister's physical revival: A powerful magic source for her magic, small speed boosters to allow her to move swiftly on the ground and in the air, special firearms supported by the powerful magic source and magically enchanted and reinforced armor replaced her body. Not only that, but an advanced targeting system of biological and non-biological organisms, "Orgia Mode" ,a special mechanism which fully enhances her overall attack capabilities at the cost of being immobile after the boost for a short time period, and a special evoker which enables her to summon her persona: Sweetie Belle has become an anti-shadow suppression weapon (the 7th to be exact) or to put it simply, an android. Bent on order and revenge, no one could stop Sweetie from joining the SOES to fight shadows. "I hope this abnormality isn't a bad sign." An orange filly prayed. This is Scootaloo, the 2nd member of the CMC. She is a flightless pegasus that gets around swiftly with a scooter and is a fan of Rainbow Dash. Finding out that her best friend wasn't dead after that incident, she was determined to fight for Sweetie Belle. "Well then..." Rainbow sighed "How's everypony's persona?" "Nemesis is itching for punishment against the shadows, as always. She understands my feelings for Sweetie Belle and that's why she wants to get revenge. Nemesis is me after all. But..." "What's the problem dear?" Rarity asked "I'm also worried about Applebloom. She's taking a lie we made pretty rough. Should we just tell her the truth?" "I'm sorry Scoots, but we can't just tell Applebloom that Sweetie's still alive." Rarity apologised "it would bring her further pain and the last thing I want is 3 fillies risking their lives against shadows." "I know you care about Applebloom." Sweetie comforted "I do too, but for her sake and ours, let's not involve her with shadows and personas. Please? I don't want to see the pain of her trying to invoke a persona or what has become of me." "Arf!" A dog barked in agreement. This dog is Winona, the family dog of the Apples. Before meeting the Apples, she had a sad past with her previous owner that seemed to build something inside her. With ferocious and swift instincts, Winona is a trustworthy companion and member of the SOES. "See? Even Winona agrees too!" Rainbow noted "Like you even know dog language!" Scootaloo retorted "I do understand her feelings however, and what Winona says is true on what Rainbow stated." Sweetie nodded "Applebloom is also Winona's owner after all." "Hey Soarin," Rainbow asked "what's your take on this?" But no reply came from the blue haired pegasus. All he just did was stand in a silent trance until he just broke from his thinking and replied "We should be extra careful." "Yeah yeah, whatever you say." Rainbow dismissed "You asked him!" Bonbon reminded "Do you think the blasted cult is at it again?" Rarity asked "If it is" Big Mac replied "I'll make sure they won't be." All of a sudden, Soarin heard a bell ring out of nowhere. Not only that, the others can hear it too. "That sound... A bell?" Rarity picked up "Ah don't remember any bells ringin that loud in this dark realm!" Applejack stated Back to the Ponyville Culture Festival, the festivities are drawing to a close on the final day. Flash and his friends' stall is, well... A place where ponies can meet somepony new and to learn more about each other: a group date cafe. The Royal Investigation Division were completely bored as no pony had come to their stall... At all. "Today's the last day of the cultural festival, and no one's even coming! Who's idea was this anyway?" A pink earth pony moaned. This is Pinkie Pie, the pony representing the element of Laughter. She's a very upbeat but... Unpredictable pony who preforms unpredictable actions that defy the laws of nature and physics. Her dark secret however, is that she thinks that everything is plain boring, everypony is a pain in the flank to her and she wants to make friends because she was afraid of being alone. With the help of Flash however, she came to terms with the dark side of her own self and became a better pony in making real friends and in order to help others to seek out truth and protect the one she loves from the shadows. "It was your idea Pinkie!!! Plus, all the OTHER classes are more interesting. Everypony's going for that." A young filly answered. This is Applebloom, the younger sister of Applejack and Big Macintosh as well as the third member of the CMC. She acts very tough against anypony including those who are older than her. Without knowing her friends and siblings were part of the SOES, a group that targets the creatures responsible for Sweetie's "death". She has been taking life pretty rough since she rarely sees Scootaloo around. While the wishes of her friends and family of never interfering with shadows and personas was unknown to her, she gained the friendship of a certain mare (although her dark side was to use said mare just to become popular, she managed to get over it and be true proper friends) and together with her, Flash and 5 others, she journeys to investigate the demeanor of the shadows and to take out any, if necessary, with her sturdy strong hooves, just like her sister. "Drat!!! I wanted to take part in this dating." Lyra moaned "I wonder why this stall isn't popular?" A grey earth pony rhetorically asked "let's give this a bit of more interest. Instead of just sitting here and moaning, why don't we try and attract the ponies still around to come here?" This is Octavia, the cellist of a quartet. She has a famous DJ as a roommate living in Ponyville, creating an utter nightmare for her, every single day. This is the cause for her dark secret to go somewhere else, far away from Ponyville and especially far away from her, the first step is to make friends with Applebloom. Fully understanding that Ponyville isn't all that bad at all especially with such caring friends like Applebloom and Flash, she accepted the fact that she did indeed wanted to leave Ponyville but living in a middle class village with a really loud roommate wasn't so bad to her after all, she now lends her aid to the RID. "Sounds like a great plan Octy!" A unicorn with a vinyl-bluish mane replied. "Why don't I go out and welcome people? And when someone does come, we can quickly take a photo!" This is Vinyl Scratch, also known as the music idol DJ-PON3. She is Octavia's roommate and was unknown to the fact that her own antics really annoyed the cellist. However, she in turn actually enjoys having Octavia as a good roommate and friend, when Vinyl's dark secret was to try and show the world who the "real me" is, it was Octavia who tried to help Vinyl face her other self. In the end, the two musicians came to equal terms and with the help of a baby dragon, managed to stand up to her dark self and from then onwards, lends her hoof to the team through tactical support and enemy analysis, similar to Fluttershy's role in the SOES. "Of course, I know another way to get visitors! A dance floor!" "No offence Miss Scratch, but if you start dropping the bass and singing, loads of ponies are going to come in and the stall's going to be flooded." A purple alicorn spoke. This alicorn, smaller than the princesses, is none other than Twilight Sparkle, the "Princess of Friendship" and the representative of the element of magic. She's a bright young mare who loves reading books and was formerly the protege of Princess Celestia before ascension. Despite having the rank of a princess, she was still considered a child by older ponies, no matter how smart, powerful or how beautiful she is. This sad truth that Twilight tried to hide is what manifested into her shadow self who tried to alter the normal Twilight's body into something beyond compare, which would have been fatal to Twilight. Just in time, the RID thwarted and defeated the shadow self of Twilight and in turn, Twilight accepted that she is still young and new to the princess business. With her own decision (and rank-pulling on Flash that recruiting her is an order), she joined the Investigation Division. "Ooh! Ooh! I want to take part in the karaoke too!" A blue head and red suit teddy bear spoke (yes, the same Teddie costume). Finally, this is Spike... Wearing his bear costume as usual. Spike in reality, is a baby dragon and Twilight's number one assistant. He can be very cheeky at times, eating gemstones and insects, but he cares a lot for Twilight and her friends. Originally the tactical supporter with the RID, he stumbled across the peculiar Teddie suit, during the rescue of Vinyl, which he grew fond of. The moment he put it on however, he was instantly controlled by the shadows through the suit, creating a shadow form of Spike. With the Investigation Team defeating his shadow form, Spike was freed from the shadow's control and became a fighting member of the Investigation Team, with Vinyl taking over the support role. "I also wanted to continue on with the Miss Ponyville contest! I'd like to win again!" "Well, of course you would." Flash replied "you are the best cross-dresser after all." To which a few giggles from the mares were heard. "Spike! Are you still wearing that blasted Teddie suit!?" Twilight scolded "Aww come on Twilight!" Spike cheered "I know it controlled my mind and body but now that the shadows are no longer infected in this suit, can't I just keep it as a souvenir? It's harmless! Besides, I may want to use it for some magic tricks like this! Do you want to see my magic?" "Oh Spike..." Twilight sighed "why do you have to be such a baby?" "Let him milady." Flash noted "we'd like to see your magic trick Spike, certainly gives us an air of entertainment in such a empty place now." And gathered the team to watch "It can't be helped then can it?" Spike asked "okay then! 1... 2... 3!" And at the 3, Spike opened up the head part of the Teddie suit, revealing the happy baby dragon. "Ta-da!!!" Spike exclaimed "Spike the Teddie Bear, has transformed into the awesome dragon!!!" "Awesome baby dragon." Applebloom corrected "So? How was that?" Spike asked as he hopped out of the suit for some fresh air. "Hmm..." Flash evaluated "It's a bit... Obvious, since a baby dragon can easily fit inside the Teddie suit." And a drop of embarrassment ran down his neck. "Aww... Flash, can you not be super critical and obvious all the time!? Why are you always not excited and energetic for once!? Stop being such a hardcore soldier! This is why a lot of ponies hate you, you're just a tool who always follows orders and not having your own personality. Do you have to be seriously devoted to the army that you lose all your personality?" "What do you mean Spike?" Pinkie asked "he was the one who discovered this shadow and persona business, he saved all of us from our own shadows, helped us accept our own truth and all of us wouldn't be together overcoming the hardships of life. If it wasn't for him, we'd all be dead by now!" "But, isn't that the job of a soldier?" Octavia countered "helping the many pony civilians?" "Octavia does hold some truth." Flash responded "but... I'm sure I'm paving out my own life slowly." As he remembered that in the Velvet Room, laying eyes on the "fool" arcana card, he was told that he was like the number zero, a bland number on its own, but is filled with much potential and infinite possibilities. This is the reason why he has the power of the Wild Card, allowing him to wield many different personas as well as proof that he wasn't all that boring. "Huh?" Vinyl pricked her ears up. It appears that something seemed to get her attention through sound. Not only that, it also rang to the ears of the other 6 ponies and dragon. It was the same mysterious bell again. "What... Was that?" "That sounded like the bell from the clock tower stationed near the playground in Ponyville." Pinkie replied "But... This bell sounds different than the one we hear every hour whenever Ah'm at the playground. It would sound like a bigger bell from a bigger clock tower." Applebloom started "And... It's not even a new hour yet!" Spike added as he checked his watch. "Ahh!!!" Octavia gasped "Wh-What's the problem?" Applebloom replied "N-Nothing..." Octavia replied "maybe... I think I've heard it before. The ringing of a bell from a clock tower." "Hmm..." Twilight wondered then asked "could that bell chime be one of those '7 marvellous and malevolent mysteries?' " " 'The 7 marvellous and malevolent mysteries'?" Vinyl asked "Hmm... Maybe it could be related." Octavia replied "let's see, the first mystery is about that bronze statue of a pony that seems to gallop around the parklands!." "Nope." Applebloom shook her head "don't think there's a relation to that. And we don't have a bronze pony statue!" "Then how about the second one?" Octavia continued "somewhere in the town hall, one of the pony's busts has have shining eyes. Day and night." "It's just light reflecting from the eyes!" Twilight answered abruptly "and no, I don't think there's any relation either." "Are you sure Your Highness?" Octavia asked "from that tone of yours, you seem a little scared. Do you honestly believe in superstitions like these? The glowing eyes of a bust? Just like the moving copper statue?" "I still don't think there's a relation to that tower either. And for the last time, we don't have a statue" Applebloom shook her head. "Then... The third one is where a strange note is located in one of the doctor's office in the hospital. If you write a wish on it, it will come true." "That's just a jinx." Lyra sighed. "Maybe Lyra tried writing a wish on that note? To turn into a human?" Flash thought to himself and laughed as he listened to Octavia's explanation of the 7 marvellous and malevolent mysteries and with the others trying to find a link to those mysteries with no avail. "Then maybe the sixth one." Octavia guessed "there is this mysterious bell tower that rings a chime far different than our one in Ponyville, bigger and made of pure grey stone. Woe to anypony who listens till its final chime." "Such a clock tower like that wouldn't exist. Ours is made of red bricks." Spike noted "However" Twilight added "I read in the history books that there was a certain clock tower long ago with the exact description." "So it does exist." Applebloom continued then corrected "or did, because it was there long before all of us were actually born! It got destroyed maybe?" "Oh Really?" Pinkie asked "and what happens when you listen all the way to the end?" "You die." Octavia stated "Hey!!! 'Woe to all'? What a way to beat around the bush!" Pinkie harshly rebuked "Well, what else can I say? You give up your soul?" "Rephrasing doesn't help at all!!!!!" Pinkie roared. "Hey girls?" Applebloom cut in "can we please not talk about these stories any longer? That bell's just a sign to say that the night festival's starting. Let's go!" And Applebloom left. "Huh? Applebloom's gone." Octavia noticed after Applebloom's words. "Maybe you scared her after all those spooky talk of those 7 mysteries." Pinkie snickered "Is it that scary?" Lyra asked "For me? Not at all." Twilight shook her head, giving a bad poker face. Flash decided to leave the stall and head to another area of the Ponyville Cultural Festival. Apparently he's got a feeling that Celestia was secretly around. "Hello Flash." Celestia greeted behind an alley "I see you're enjoying the culture festival we've established." "Maybe" Flash shrugged "may I question your presence here?" "I though I'd make a little prediction on what's happening at the night festival show." "H-Hey! Flash!" Vinyl screeched as she caught up with him "why did you leave the stall? And why is the Princess here? Don't tell me you've got a job to do!" And after that, she bowed to Celestia of respect to a princess. "There's no need to be so formal" Celestia chuckled followed with a death glare "because I'VE SEEN YOU NAKED." "... What?" Flash replied after a few minutes of awkward silence. "That face is rather creepy..." Vinyl added "but I'm pretty sure you're seeing me naked RIGHT NOW. We don't WEAR clothes except for formal occasions." "Dammit... I thought it would work." Celestia embarrassingly replied. "Oh! Princess Celestia!" Spike, who was carrying the big but extremely light Teddie suit which was neatly folded up. "I never heard that you would be coming here!" Princess Celestia is the oldest of the royal sisters, "princess of the Sun" and current ruler of Equestria. Apart from doing her duties of watching over her land, she offers her aid to the Royal Investigation team by managing personas in a secret realm that transcends time and space, the "Velvet Room". "Wait... That Big Book... No way Princess! You're..." Applebloom recognised as she and the rest of the ponies caught up with Flash. "Wait..." Octavia assessed "I thought the person in charge of the rumoured 'Velvet Room' was a dark alicorn that had a very long snout. So you're in charge of this 'Velvet Room'!?" Celestia put her hoof to her face and sighed "You must be mistaking me for somepony else. Yes, there was an alicorn of your description who was the former master of the Velvet Room, a close friend of mine. I was just his assistant at the time he was around, but he decided to take a vacation and left me in charge." Then Celestia turned back to Flash and glared. "Now... What have you been telling the others about me?" "I was talking about HIM. Not you, everypony knows you." Flash calmed "but he's not there anymore?" "Like I said, he's on vacation. He can sometimes be too stubborn for his own health." Celestia repeated "Oh... Sorry about offending you, your Highness." Pinkie apologised "we are..." "I know, Pinkie Pie." Celestia interrupted "Flash's friends and allies. With him, you formed the Royal Investigation Division to discover any mysteries that relate to shadows, whether it's apprehending or rescuing ponies, you also fight these shadows with personas." "Princess!?" Twilight gasped "I thought you only knew about personas! You manage them as well!?" "Of course!!!" Celestia smiled "a Princess should be aware of all dangers and be able to protect our subjects from all dangers, even shadows! But don't worry my dear former student, you're doing your duties by aiding Flash and his investigation team. Anyway, there is something that I would like to talk to you about. Have you heard a mysterious bell chime during your activities?" "A bell chime?" Lyra asked "oh... Yeah, we heard it not too long ago." "So you indeed heard it." Celestia replied and continued "you see, this bell chime does not occur in reality." "What!? That's poppycock!" Pinkie laughed "Says the pony who defies reality." Flash smirked "Anyway." Celestia continued "I was only going to bring Flash, but since the entire RID is here. I might as well bring all of you along to further discuss the bell in secrecy." "Where?" Octavia asked "The place on which you call a rumour." Celestia winked "the Velvet Room!" "Ahh!" Pinkie yelped "What's wrong!?" Twilight gasped "There was a spider on my hoof..." Pinkie explained "A spider?" Lyra asked "Wait... It's gone now..." Pinkie wondered then looked back up "Nothing! Just my imagination!" "That bell..." Fluttershy stated "I can't sense its location." "You know what? I don't think the bell has to do anything with us." Rainbow Dash replied "just a distraction, let's just get on with the job!" "Soarin" Rarity commanded "you have the honours of picking your team members." "Can't we have 5 team members?" Scootaloo pleaded "4 is enough." Rarity strictly stated "Soarin??? Yoohoo???" As Rarity tried to get Soarin's attention, he was not listening. Instead, something was speaking into his mind. "SOARIN!!!" Rarity yelled and Soarin broke out of his trance, un-surprised. "Hang on a second. I've got to use the bathroom." Soarin replied and scurried off. "Now? Seriously? That troublesome, silent, foal..." Rarity sighed as she saw Soarin scurry off into a corner. "Eep!" Fluttershy screamed "there's a spider on my hoof!" "Ah spider?" Applejack replied. "But... It's now gone... It was just there..." "Fluttershy? Are you all right?" Rarity asked "Just my imagination, I'm sorry." Fluttershy replied. "Wait... Wasn't isn't that corner that Soarin went to a dead end?" BonBon asked. To this extent, she was right and wrong. Soarin wasn't intending to go to the toilet. Instead, he headed to a door visible to him and him only and it was located in that corner. Soarin entered into a large ascending elevator with a table and few couches. There he sees two ponies relaxing on one of the couches. One was Luna, Princess of the night, the other was a unicorn with a doughnut as his cutie mark. "It has been a while." Princess Luna stood up "welcome dear Soarin, to the velvet room." "I am glad that you are able to make it today. It seems that fate has taken a surprising turn." The unicorn stood, Soarin looked at the unfamiliar unicorn with confusion. "Oh dear. I've never introduced myself to you, did I?" The unicorn spoke "I'm very sorry, my name is Joe. Runner of the Doughnut store and a part-time job as patron of the Velvet Room, on behalf of Princess Luna." "The reason of thou calling..." Luna briefed "We have read the cards and it seems the threads of fate are intertwining together. Something is amiss between time and space." Soarin continued to have a confused look. "Still unsure?" Joe asked with a nodded reply from Soarin. "Then how about this. Have you heard any mysterious bell chimes?" Soarin peaked up and nodded. "See..." Luna continued "this neither rings in Equestria, nor anywhere in the entire world. In fact, the bell rings forth from a different dimension." Soarin widened his eyes. "Now, about this fate, allow me to show you..." Joe introduced until some alarm and red lights blared and flashed in the Velvet Room, as the three looked around for the source, Joe continued "that's strange... Let me correct myself... You and other guests." As Soarin heard the words 'other guests', he turns around to see BonBon, Rarity and Rainbow Dash behind him. In fact, the entire SOES appeared right behind him. "What the!? What's going on!?" BonBon stated "E-Everything looks blue!" Rainbow analysed "S-Soarin? P-Princess Luna? D-Doughnut Joe? Wh-Where are we!?" Rarity stuttered "Ah... It seems thou knows these intruders Soarin." Princess Luna sighed, Meanwhile, Princess Celestia lead the RID to a small blue marquee with stars. "That's the fortune tellers stall." Twilight answered "Well done Twilight." Celestia sarcastically commended "I didn't train you as my protege for nothing" leaving Twilight with an aghast face. "Sarcasm..." Pinkie added "it burns... Like the skills of Octavia's Persona." "Not funny." Octavia sighed "Now... Why don't we try going in?" Celestia gestured and with her leading the way, the RID piled in. "The decoration looks very interesting!" Spike noted as they trudged inwards. "You know, the interior looks a bit wide when compared to the size of the marquee." Lyra noted "Well, it doesn't beat how the interior looks. The interior has images that looks like clock gears, floating doors and mattresses maybe? I can also say that the floor also contains patterns of tarot cards! It's truly astounding." "Hang on..." Vinyl started "is it me or are those clock gear images... Moving?" "Relax Vinyl!" Spike comforted as the 9 stepped onto a very large square with a couch and table. "I'm pretty sure a marquee wouldn't hold... Wait a minute, they ARE moving!!! Not only that! The doors are actually letting in real light! You've got to be kidding me..." And as Spike looked behind him, all he saw was a long flight of stairs that they seemed to be walking on. In fact, the clock gears were real and the doors were real. In fact, the doors are floating in the air, as well as the large platform the 9 are standing on, connected with three curved staircases, two which are broken, all supported by the vastness and emptiness of the air. "Good Grief!!!" Pinkie exclaimed "talk about a wide open space, this thing is floating through the air!" "That's awkward... Why does it look like this?" Celestia wondered loudly "and what about this mysterious door?" As she pointed two chained up doors. "A circle that spouts a blue and yellow light at the top, whereas the door is covered with 4 locks." "So this door wasn't here before here before?" Twilight asked "Not at all. Normally, the Velvet Room is just a small area where you can fit a desk and a chair. It's also a closed room too. Floating in--" "Time and space?" Applebloom interrupted "Dreams and Reality, Mind and Matter." Flash and Celestia spoke at once, which gave each other surprised looks. "Th-This place is freaking me out..." Applebloom stammered "can we go back to the stall now?" "At least listen to what's going on." Celestia requested "Please, do stay a while." Octavia gestured "the Velvet Room seems pretty peaceful, and this music and singing is lovely!" "Well... Here's the situation." "And that's that." Joe concluded "A bell? Ringin' in different dimension between time and space? And some dark force is causing that to happen? Sounds very far-fetched..." Applejack spoke "Eeyup." Big Macintosh agreed "All this fate thing is making me woozy..." Rainbow Dash yawned "Remember, storms can shake up fate and even time and space itself." Luna replied "Time, Space, even fate is very fragile." Scootaloo chorused "Soarin, does thou remember what we told you? About your fate intertwining with another?" "Flash Sentry?" Soarin replied "is he the culprit behind the bell? Because I'm sure that's definitely not his style." "That's preposterous! Soarin wouldn't do such a thing!" Flash protested to Celestia "I doubt he can perform dimensional jumping either!" "I didn't say that he was the bad guy..." Celestia reminded "I only just said that your fate is intertwined with him." "Hey... Where did Applebloom go?" Lyra piped up "Oh no... Don't tell me she ran away!" Octavia gasped "Let's go after her!" Flash gestured to Octavia. "Be careful you don't fall off!" Celestia warned as the two galloped down the stairs. "Applebloom! There you are!" Octavia noted as the two caught up just outside the fortune teller's marquee. "Sorry bout that... Ah-Ah just can't stand sitting in just a silent place!" "Relax dear Applebloom." Celestia approached with the rest following behind. "The Velvet Room is a place where there are no meaningless things, my sister told me this and I believe it to be true." "O... Okay then. I understand." Applebloom nodded "Sorry to break it to you but..." Pinkie jumped "can we figure the bell thing for later? I want to go back to our stall." "Hmm..." Flash noted "Is there a problem Flash?" Spike asked. "I swear... Did something change in Ponyville?" "I have no idea what you're talking about. Ponyville is just the same as it always is." Lyra shrugged "Wait... Flash may be right in this case... All the stalls look pretty different. I'm pretty sure I could remember their designs." Vinyl spotted "Indeed." Flash added "and it looks like the ponies running those stalls have completely new faces." "Now that you mention it... I do feel like we are in a different atmosphere of Ponyville..." Octavia wondered "It's not just that!" Twilight exclaimed "look! Over there!" The RID and Celestia turned around to see a humongous tower made of stone. "Wh-What the!?!?" "No way..." Meanwhile, back in the Velvet Room, the SOES were still getting a hold of themselves against the situation they were pitched against, until the same alarm and lights came around. "Again?" Joe asked. After a few flashes and beams, the elevator suddenly ceased its ascension. "What the..." Soarin started "The elevator's stopped!" Rarity announced "Uh... I feel scared." Fluttershy started "You know" Rainbow added "this experience kind of reminds me on how Roller Coasters work." "What's a Roller Coaster?" Applejack asked "Oh, it's just something the Pegasi at Cloudsdale want to construct. It's a ride where you slowly rise and then stop at the top of the world... And then you come riding down in full speed!" "B-But then" BonBon realised "if that were to happen, this lift will drop!" Right after she said that, the entire lift gave way and it starts plummeting down. "Ahh!" BonBon screamed as everyone fell to the floor trying to grab on, except for Sweetie, Princess Luna and Joe. "We are currently in an uncontrolled free-fall! This lift is descending with increased velocity!" "A-Are we going to crash!? Are we going to die!?" Scootaloo cried. The lift continued falling until it hit the ground with a loud crash. For some unknown reason, the passengers of the lift seemed to be alive and unharmed, though kicking up a lot of dust. "Is... Is it over yet?" Soarin asked as the dust settled "everypony okay?" "Yeah... Ah think ah'm fine." Applejack coughed. "Um..." Big Macintosh gestured to the elevator door, behind the doors glowed an intense white light. The elevator doors are also beginning to make a noise "The door. It is opening!" Luna announced, and the elevator doors slid open to give access for the SOES to enter what lies beyond the light. And so begins fate's trial of all Equestria... And time and space itself...