//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Persona: Equestria // by scriptshatter //------------------------------// My eyes creak open, the sandman escaping them as I let out a yawn, waking up. I blink a few times in confusion… because I could’ve sworn I fell asleep in a castle with Thorax, not some strange, velvet bar. I get up to my hooves, looking around for a moment. The shelves are fully stocked with drinks, and there's a jukebox in the corner. There are paintings on the wall, mostly of people I don’t recognise. But there’s one… a picture of the only person I could ever consider a friend in my past life, Ren. Ren Amamiya. I stare at it for a moment, dumbfounded as to why something like that is here. As a matter of fact, why am I here? Manning the bar itself is a person, holding a newspaper in a way that prevented me from seeing their face, so I couldn’t tell if it was someone I knew or not. On the opposite end of the bar sat what looked to be a dragon wearing a sort of uniform, based on the tail. “Ah, welcome to the velvet bar! Please, do have a seat.” I couldn’t quite identify the voice, as it didn’t sound like anything immediately recognizable. They still haven't let down their newspaper, but I’ll go up to sit anyway. Not like I have anywhere to go, since the doors seem like they simply lead into the abyss. I sat next to the dragon, who had just finished drinking a shot of whiskey. She looked over at me, giving a bright smile. “Hey, you’re here! We’ve been waitin’ awhile for you,” she said, scruffing the top of my head. I looked over at her in confusion, raising an eyebrow. “Waiting for me? What do you mean? Don’t tell me this is some fate shiiii… stuff.” Thorax says I should cut down on the “forbidden words”. Besides that, though, I really don’t want to be tied into something like this, since last time it happened I ended up having all my freedom and free will taken from me, and my existence was reduced to that of a puppet. Nearly twice. The person chose to leave their newspaper up, preventing me from seeing their face. “You’ve had quite the adventure, haven't you?” They said, chuckling. “Please pardon me for not introducing myself sooner. My name is not important right now, but I am overjoyed to make your acquaintance! This place exists between the dream and the real, between imagination and the physical world. It is a room that only those who are bound by a contract may enter. It’s a high possibility that you may encounter such a fate soon. Now then, why don’t you introduce yourself?” I sat at the man for a moment, confused, before blinking and returning to my senses. “My… My name is Spiracle.” The person laughed at my response, shaking their head. “No, not that name. Your real name. It may sound different here, but I assure you that it will be the same name you once had.” I thought for a moment, and decided that I really had nothing to lose in this case. Again, not like I was going anywhere. “My name is The fifth child of Wisdom.” I blinked a few times before shaking my head in confusion. The person simply laughed. “I can understand your confusion. All that’s happened is I have converted your name into something more suitable for this world. How about instead of that mouthful, I simply call you Fifth Wisdom? Or Wisdom, for short.” I shrugged. I didn’t have anything against it, and besides. Being called Wisdom might be nice. “Sounds good.” They chuckled at my remark, before pulling out a deck of cards. Tarot cards to be exact. They still managed to keep their face hidden behind the newspaper, it floating in front of their face. “Do you believe in fortune telling?” They asked me. I thought about it for a moment. I had seen so many things in my past that fortune telling wasn’t really anything surprising, was it? “I… Sure. Sure, I believe in fortune telling.” Upon saying this, the person spread the tarot cards out into what I thought I could remember being some sort of star spread. I was never really into tarot cards, but I occasionally eavesdrop on lessons at the mall. “That is great news! Now, let’s see what we have here. First, your past is… The emperor in the reversed position. Oh, I’m terribly sorry that you ended up with her. Let's hope your future is a vast improvement… The card representing the present is… Death, in the upright position. A lucky break, dare I say! Your immediate future is… The moon, in the reversed position. It seems as if there may be some misinterpretation in the future. I hope you’re ready to take care of it! I don’t think we need to reveal the rest of these. Sometimes mystery is half the fun, after all!” They put the cards away as fast as they took them out. “Well… I’m not entirely sure what all of that meant, but I’m assuming death meant the metaphorical death of mine and Thoraxes' old life,” I said while having my hooves underneath my chin. “Correct! Although, that’s not all too hard to gleam from what information I gave you. Oh? Looks like our time is almost up! And I haven't even introduced you to my assistant Ms. Agatha yet. How rude of me!” They said, as the dragon entered the conversation. “Eh, don’t worry about it doc! We’ll always meet the kid another day, anyway. But yea, while I got the time I may as well introduce myself! I’m Ms. Agatha, but you can call me Coach Agatha if you want! No need for formalities around me.” The dragon had a sort of raspy voice, and was upbeat and enthusiastic. “Seems like our time is just about up! We shall talk more tomorrow, Wisdom! Have a nice day.” And with that, I woke up with a start. My head flings up as I awaken, and for a moment I’m breathing heavily. I look around the room I’m in frantically, before sighing in relief as I realize I’m back in the castle. Looking over where Thorax is, it seems he’s still asleep, softly snoring away. take a look at the book beside my bed, and start reading. Might as well see if this is what I think it is. If anyone is reading this in the far future, hello. I am Starswirl the Bearded. I am investigating a new… dimension that I will call the Everfree Dissonance, or the Forest Of the Blind… I’m not sure yet. It can only be entered by casting the spell that I have written below. In the Everfree, lies every mind But within this place, they are all blind. Where they lie there are different rules Magic can only be used with tools. But if you break free And let your mind see You will gain a unique ability The will to form a great utility I identified this spell inside a long forgotten cave beyond Equestria, with the same eye that is on the cover of this book carved into stone. I do believe this may help me in assisting Stigion. If this spell does what I think it does, it may allow me to travel into a world where the evil that resides in Stigion, the pony of shadows, is in a much more vulnerable form. However, I worry for my own sanity heading into this place. I’m preparing as much as I can heading in; I don’t know what to expect other than a vague idea from what's depicted in the spell that I’m required to cast in order to enter. I’m writing this whilst inside the Everfree Dissonance. It seems as if most, if not all of the fauna here, besides the grass have magical, and in some cases culinary potential. I will be sure to document as much of this flora and fauna as I can. Perhaps after I find a way to help Stigeon, Some of these plants may be of great use to help further ponykind. The life I have found inside this place is extremely hostile to ponykind, and to make matters worse, magic barely works. I assumed this to be the case based on the spell, but that doesn’t change how inconvenient it is. There is still much to discover. I will keep a record of what I encounter on later pages. I put the book away, Thorax yawning while waking up. I hadn’t seen too many similarities between what I was familiar with when it came to the Metaverse compared to The Everfree Dissonance from the book. The exception to that was the whole desires thing in the spell, and possibly the life that was found, though that’s probably just confirmation bias. “Mmmph… Spiracle… you up?” Thorax said as he yawned, sitting up as he rubbed his eyes. “Yes, yes I am. I was reading the book we found. It has some information that I found very, very interesting. Not that you would know why it’s interesting, since you don’t know what to compare it to.” I hope he understands I’m not trying to undersell his intelligence. “Right, your past life and everything. Alright, that was nice but we can’t eat breakfast until we make some friends in a town. Good thing just being friends with a pony doesn’t drain them, as long as we’re not impersonating any of them.” I raised an eyebrow at that last part. “Where’d you hear about that?” I asked. “I eavesdropped on some changelings when we still lived in the hive, c’mon!” He said as he ran down, taking me with him. It didn’t take long for us to see the forest we had gotten dumped in. Thorax urged me forward as we started to trot along the colored leaves. The smell of autumn was always something I enjoyed. The pleasant scent of the trees and their leaves. Of the streams of water and lakes wafting up in the air, along with the distinct smell of putrid skunk. Wait… skunk? I soon found out just what that scent was. Two… Quadruped wolf trees made themselves known as they walked through the bushel. I stepped back, only to be greeted with two more behind me. My mind reeled at them, wondering what we would do in this situation. One of the wolves lunged at me, biting my midsection. I felt a searing pain throughout my body as it did, and I let out a yelp in agony. Through blurred vision I start ramming the creature with my hoof, causing it to let me go. Before I could react, however, another rammed into me with its side and sent me flying, where I hit a tree with a loud thump. I grimace and open my eyes just in time to see one of them running towards me with the intention of finishing the job. I roll out of the way almost immediately, rounding the tree. I try to fly, but the bite the creature took has rendered my wings unusable for the time being. I look for Thorax, and see him hiding in a tree where several of the creatures are harassing him in their attempt to knock him down. I yell for him with all my strength, trying to get his attention. He sees me, and his eyes widen at what’s behind me. I don’t have to turn around to find out what it is, the smell is enough. I roll out of the way once more as the beast's jaws snap shut, just missing me. Thorax daringly flies down from the safety of his tree to grab me, and the beasts chase after him. He hoists me up quickly, before flying away from the beasts, who are in hot pursuit of the two of us. In a flash, we fly by what looks to be a… zebra? The pained sounds of the beasts can be heard from behind, and I have to tell Thorax to stop. He was too busy looking at where the Zebra had been. We nearly ran into what looked to be some sort of house. Thorax set the two of us down, and that’s when I noticed I forgot the book all the way at the castle. I let out a dejected sigh, shaking my head. “Woah! Spiracle, you’re injured! Don’t move around so much…” It was then the pain came back. Thorax, I love you like a brother, but why’d you have to remind me of that? I let out a pained groan, and struggled to get to my hooves. “Book…” Is all I can muster to get out. “What?” Thorax says, tilting his head in confusion. “The… Book…” I say, Thorax loosening up a little. “Don’t worry, I grabbed it on our way out with my magic,” He says, pulling it out. Did I ever mention how great Thorax is? I strain myself sitting up, and I hold my barrel in pain. Breathing heavily, I look up, and through bleary eyes I see a figure walking… no, trotting towards us in the distance. It’s a white blur, but the only thing I’ve seen is the zebra that we flew past, so I assume that’s who it is. It doesn’t take her long to approach us, and I hope to… I just hope she’s friendly, because if she managed to take down those wooden beasts, who knows what she could do to us. “Changelings, why did your queen send you here!? To steal love by being insincere!? Or perhaps you wish to scout and look around, only to invade and surround!” At her saying that, Thorax began to whimper and breathe heavily. Me personally? It was just another reminder of who I had managed to escape from only a few days ago. I pulled Thorax into a hug in order to comfort him. It was the least I could do in this state, since talking proved to be quite the chore. “Genuine care? Emotions so rare? Could it be that these changelings are more than just a physical nightmare?” I stopped hugging Thorax with both arms, and instead chose to just hold him close. I wanted to see what the zebra was doing. She took a bowl from the front of her house and brought it over. I raised an eyebrow as she took several leaves and flowers from the saddlebags she held on her back and ground them up into a paste. “Now, tell me why you have come here. This salve will tell me if what you say is sincere.” I raised an eyebrow. I went to speak up, but searing pain interrupted me. Thorax picked up the slack. “C-c-chrysalis, h-his m-mother, tried t-to k-kill u-us bec-cause m-my brother d-didn’t l-like the way s-she ruled and c-called her a t-tyrant… h-he m-managed to t-teleport us out l-last minute th-though and saved us. W-we w-where just g-going to f-find a town and make u-up p-ponies based on ourselves t-to disguise as s-so that we c-could live peacefully… I-I was thinking that as l-long as w-we create n-new ponies i-instead of impersonating others, w-we would be able to f-feed on l-love without h-having to drain a-anyone.” The zebra raised an eyebrow at that. She thought for a moment, before shaking her head and putting the strange paste on our chitin shells. We shone with a deep blue light for a moment, before it faded away. The zebra wore an expression of sorrow and shock, saying “I had known she was cruel, but using that as a reason for killing her own kind? To even think that is remotely ok, you’d have to have some sick mind!” A small chuckle escaped my lips, and I let out a sad smile. She’s right, you would have to be sick in the mind to kill your own kind. She doesn’t know the half of it. We were soon escorted into her hut. She briefly asked us about the book, but Thorax told her it was just some book on fauna. Which was… technically true. Once we were inside, Zecora introduced herself properly and wrapped my midsection up in bandages. I thanked her, or rather tried. Once she realized my voice was shot, she smiled and rolled her eyes. “You must've bruised your throat badly against those timber wolves who fought you so madly,” She said as she went to her pot to start making something. “I'll assist you in your plight, but please try to not get in another fight.” Zecora’s being a lot nicer than she was when we first met. Probably because not only are we not with the Tyrant, but we’ve suffered at her hoof as well. It only takes a few moments of waiting before she hands me a cup with a potion in it. She seemed nice, and she had no reason to lie to us… and I doubt a changeling would’ve touched that truth telling paste, so I drank it. It tastes horrible, and after drinking it I let out a small grimaced hiss. Zecora backs away for a moment. “I must apologize for hissing. It wasn’t at you, it was at the taste. I didn’t expect medication to exactly taste good, but that doesn’t make the taste any better.” Zecora chuckled at that, her posture relaxing. Thorax and I joined her in laughing. As the laughter wore off of me, my barrel started aching again. I took a deep breath and relaxed, which stung for a moment but ultimately helped with the pain. I smiled, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep. I opened my eyes as I woke up. My barrel felt much better than it did when I had fallen asleep, which was fortunate. I stretched and managed to get up from the bed. Thorax and Zecora had been talking before I got up, and they looked at me when I arose from my bed. Thorax trotted over to me, eyes beaming with excitement. “Spiracle! You’re awake! C’mon, we’ve got some things to talk about. Nothing bad, I swear!” I drowsily trotted behind Thorax. He stood in front of Zecora, and I followed suit. “Ah, Spiracle, I see you have awoken! It’s nice to see that your barrel was not broken. Now, as I was saying, tomorrow we will decide on your pony form. I do hope your hive at least taught you how to transform,” Zecora said chuckling. “I mean, it’s a skill changelings get at a very young age, and we’re taught it regardless of who we are, so yes, I do know how. It’d be pretty stupid of them to just forget something like that,” I said, the three of us laughing now. “Hey, do you two mind if I head off to bed? I’m… pretty tired…” Thorax said as he yawned. “Of course. Staying up is something I won’t enforce.” I raised an eyebrow at that. “Why would you enforce it?” I asked suspiciously. “Hmm? Oh, because it was the most convenient rhyme. It’s a habit, something I’ve done for a long time,” She responded, shrugging. “Oh… alright. Hey, do you have any advice on finding a place to stay in town once we get there? I don’t have a plan, neither does he, and I’m pretty sure what little I’ve read on ponies is of much, much older times, considering the place I found the books I read was an old castle.” Zecora thought for a few minutes before coming to a conclusion. “I think… It’d be best if you two stayed with me. You’ll work with me though, it won’t be free. You’ll be gathering ingredients from the everfree. I must warn you though, it won’t be easy.” I was about to reject the offer on instinct, but then I thought about it… and realized this was nothing like the work I had been forced to do before. I was gathering plants, or at least that’s all I saw on Zecora's shelves, and being given something of value in return; a home. This was a pretty good deal. “Sure, sounds good. I’m sure Thorax will agree to it as well, we’re familiar with farming since the Tyrant had us as mushroom farmers.” Zecora burst out laughing. I raise an eyebrow and glower a little. “Sorry, sorry, I must apologize. It’s just that calling her “The Tyrant” was quite the funny surprise!” I blinked and joined her in laughing. It took awhile for us to stop laughing, but eventually we settled down. I looked over at the large cauldron in the middle of the room. “What’s this for? Making potions I assume?” I asked, looking at Zecora afterwards. “Yes indeed, though there is nothing anyone should need. It’s really just for show, though it does emit a nice glow.” I thought for a moment, looking at the large cauldron, a memory pulling itself up from the drudges of my mind. “Do you by chance make coffee?” Zecora tilted her head at me. “While yes the fact that I could use my cauldron to make that caffeinated drink is true, It’s supposed to be used for much more complicated types of brew. Why do you ask this? Is it because of something you miss?” I sighed and wore a small frown. “I had this friend a while back. Before I met Thorax, before I was what I am now. He lived in the attic of a cafe, and the owner made the most wonderful coffee. He actually taught my friend how to make it as well. I guess I just miss them. I don’t think I’ll ever see them again, though. They’re in a place that… that I don’t think I can go to anymore.” Zecora walked over to me and put her hoof around my shoulder, before pulling me into a small embrace. Although initially shocked, I returned the display of gentle care and hugged her back, before we pulled away shortly after. “Thank you, ms. Zecora. I needed that.” I said, rolling my shoulders as I gave her a small smile. “With all that you’ve been through? It’s the least I can do. Now, how would you like to learn how to brew?” My eyes widened a little with shock as I heard the words come out of her mouth. “Huh? Why? You just met me, not to mention I’m the son of the tyrant,” I said, tilting my head… Zecora’s wearing off on me already. “So that you can help me with my business. Also, you have done nothing wrong, and do not need forgiveness.” Oh, I’ve definitely done bad things… in a past life. We’re only talking about this life, though… so I suppose she’s right in that regard. “In return, you’ll help me make my potions. It shouldn’t be hard for you to get used to the motions.” Thinking about it for a moment, I decided it was actually quite a beneficial deal. I help Zecora with her brewing, and in exchange I learn about the craft and get to live here. “That sounds like a wonderful deal, ms. Zecora. I’m happy to help,” I said with a smile. “There’s no need to use the prefix miss. You can just use my name, I’ll get the premise. And I’m glad you’ll be joining me in my work. I think you’ll find it has many a perk.” "In your strange scarf several potions where found, not to mention you managed to find a place to stay in Ponyville on such short notice. Tell me, who helped you make these? And who was stupid enough to let you live with them? After all, there's no way a Changeling could possibly buy a home this easily." Shining sneered. I am thou, and thou art I… Thou hast created a new friendship It shalt help open your eyes To the truth you need to see With thou gaining the Hierophant Persona, Thou will gain the will To give their utilities heightened ability. “Now, tomorrow I will give you your first task. For now, though, I’ll just tell you some things I know.” Zeocra pulled out a selection of two leaves and three flowers. She pointed to the first one, a pink plant that had a heart like design on it. “This is hearts’ desire. It makes what one wants available to acquire.” She pointed to the second, an ovalure leaf with an elongated triangle made of its veins, on top of the ones already there. “This is a leaf from the recovertree, and while its name may be cheesy, it recovers what was once only a memory.” Her hoof moved to the third, another leaf. This one was simpler, having a long stem and a perfect circle on top. “The leaf of a Discovertree, however cheesy its name may be, is very useful in finding things that would make for a hard discovery.” The fourth’s up next, and this one looked to be a simple blue flower. “This one is poison joke, though I’ve removed this one's effect. It plays chaotic pranks on creatures, making their days defect.” The last plant she pointed to was a large, deep blue flower. “This is a knowledge blossom, and when used correctly it can give knowledge that one might consider awesome. All of these plants are used in a variety of ways. Though, customers are far and few these days. Ponies leave and hide whenever I enter town, though perhaps if you enter for me the town won’t have a shut down. Hmm… No, I shouldn’t be so alone. Even if I’ll have you two, it won’t be healthy to be on my own. That’s besides the point, however. The point is that you should learn what these do, and that you shouldn’t consume one on its own, never.” I nodded in understanding. I looked all over her hut, examining the various potions and elixirs. “I’m noticing a lot of these heal a specific thing. Is there a potion that can heal in general? In case of emergencies,” I asked. “I do have one recipe so far, though I’m not sure why you’d want it when it’s subpar.” She said, scratching the back of her neck. “Well you see, I- Hold on, how about I just show you the book? I think you’d know more about this stuff anyway.” I used my magic to hand her the book. She raised her eyebrows at my magic, but seemed to shake it off. She flipped through the pages, her eyes widening at the later ones until she stopped in the middle. “What’s up?” I asked, confused. “The middle of the book is where it ends- but the contents of this book and what ideas it lends… It’s nightmarish! The eyeless creatures of this book may do things besides causing you to perish. However, I do believe based on what it says that they take away something you cherish.” Something clicked in my mind… this was the other world I was used to traversing alright, or at least something like it, but if my hunch was correct, it was a version that was even more distorted than the one I’m used to is. Whatever happened there would be out of my knowledge. I don’t know what this extra messed up version of the distorted world has to offer. And that scares me. Now's not the time to think about that, though. It’s getting rather late and my eyes are starting to feel heavy. “Hey, Zecora? Is it all good if I head off to bed?” I said drowsily, the bags of my eyes sagging. “Of course, Spiracle. They do say that sleep can bring a miracle.” I chuckle a little before heading off to bed. Even if there was only one, I can still sleep. I climb on top of thorax and close my eyes, feeling sleep take hold of me. It’s not long before I’m slumbering quietly, my mind relaxing as I drift off.