//------------------------------// // Velvet Blues // Story: Ponysona: Arcana Crusaders // by Phoenix Kitten //------------------------------// Twist and Scootaloo threaded their way through the crowd of confused ponies in the market district, eyeing the wrecked carts as they carried Applebloom toward Carousel Boutique. "Well...Sweetie had quite a fight on her hooves it seems." Scootaloo noted as the dressmakers shop came into view. "It thowth." Twist said as she pointed forward. "The'th limping pretty badly." Scootaloo turned her attention forward and noticed the young unicorn leaning on Silver Spoon, her right foreleg held slightly off the ground. "Oh... you know what I just remembered?" "What'th that?" Twist asked as Diamond Tiara made her way over to them. "Twilight and Rarity are still in Manehatten. The boutique is locked." Scootaloo groaned. "Just because it's locked doesn't mean there is no way in." Sweetie called over as they got closer. "Come on, everypony bunch up." Diamond carried Applebloom over while Twist and Scootaloo exchanged looks and joined the group huddle. "So what are we gonna..." Scootaloo started before Sweetie's horn took on a bright emerald shine. There was a large whoompf sound as the six fillies landed sprawled on the floor of the boutique. "...do... ow...." Scootaloo groaned as she shook her head. Diamond groaned as she pushed herself up. "Well... ow... she did warn us that she hadn't done a group teleport before." "Ugh.... mah eyes and head hurt... and ah feel like ah'm made of lead." Applebloom groaned as she woke up. Scootaloo stumbled over to where her friend was laying on the ground and offered her hoof. "You feeling okay Applebloom?" "No." the yellow earthpony groaned as she took her friends hoof and was pulled up. "Mah head hurts, mah eyes are dry and mah throat is achin'." Sweetie hissed as she pushed herself up on her injured foreleg. "I don't suppose you could use Gaia to heal us." She asked as she nursed her foreleg even closer to her chest. "I got a little roughed up during my fight with Dewey." "Ith that what happened?" Twist asked as she adjusted her glasses. "We were ambuthed by Ithing." "Did she spout off something about you three not being real because you're suddenly friends with us?" Silver Spoon asked with a toss of her mane as she acted as a leaning post for Sweetie Belle again. Scootaloo looked over at the other trio. "No, she mentioned that Dewey thought that but seemed to have her own motivations, not that we got to hear them before Bloom beat her unconscious and left her in a trashcan." "She'll be fahne." Applebloom grumbled. "Ah think ah knocked her hard enough that she can't remember what happened." "Still, we'll have to be on guard around them, and potentially Sunny too if they manage to rope her into it." Diamond Tiara grumped. "It'll be nice to have the numerical advantage for once." Sweetie looked about the room in thought. "Hey Silver, would you mind helping me upstairs to my room? I left something in there that might be a help." The grey filly blinked and nodded, helping the injured unicorn up the stairs and out of sight. "Oh shoot...." Scootaloo groaned as she caught sight of Applebloom's ribbon. "I can't believe I forgot that again..." "Forgot what?" Diamond inquired as she looked around. "Sweetie's sister is out of town still, there's no one here to repair her ribbon." the pegsus's hoof scuffed the ground sheepishly. Applebloom deflated a bit at hearing that. "Darn... mah ma's ribbon..." "I can fix it." Sweetie said as she lumbered down the stairs with Silver. "I've seen Rarity do it lots of times." Applebloom grimace. "No offense Sweetie... but none of us have a sterlin' record when it comes to fixin' stuff." Sweetie shrugged. "That's true, but it's not like you have anything to lose. and if I can't fix it, I'll hold it for you so Rarity can fix it for you when she gets back." "But what'll ah tell mah brother if he see's me without ma's ribbon?" the earthpony groaned. "If ah lied about losin' it ah'd be in a heap more trouble." "Well.. we're going to be moving our base for our team out to Zecora's hut right? Just say you left it there by accident" Scootaloo suggested. Applebloom looked thoughtful for a second before sighing and untying her ribbon, watching as it got wrapped in the green glow of Sweetie's magic. "Whoa... it feels enchanted... I wonder..." Sweetie mumbled as she willed the two broken ends near each other, willing the enchanted fabric together like a glue. Applebloom gaped as the cut slowly began to fade away until it was completely gone, blinking as the glow around it stopped suddenly and letting it fall into her hooves. "That was... how did you do that Sweetie?" Sweetie panted a bit, now sitting on the ground. "I just willed the enchantment to remove the damage... holy hay it tired me out though." "Is there anything to eat in the fridge? I'll see what I can rustle up." Silver smiled as she trotted to the kitchen. "I'm not sure... Spike would know better since he normally cooks." Sweetie held a hoof up to her temple and shook her head. "I've wasted too much mana today..." she groaned before she collapsed to her side. The checkerboard pattern rushed across Sweetie's view as the familiar blue door appeared in front of her, once again opening perfectly to let her in as just seconds before she would have impacted her, filling her vision with a blinding light. When her sight returned she found herself standing in the lobby of a blue hotel. Behind the counter sat a very familiar and welcome sight. "Welcome, to the velvet room." Igor began. "I have summoned you here within your dreams." Sweetie opened her mouth to protest. "Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the real world." "Igor! Theodore!" Sweetie exclaimed. "I thought you two were busy in another world." "Time means nothing to those of us in the Velvet room miss Belle." Theodore explained. "But your world is odd. Normally we can spread ourselves across as many different timelines and dimensions as we want. But your world has safeguards in place that not even we cannot cross, it is curious. I have called in assistance from my sisters on this manner." The young male human explained as he gestured for the unicorn to look beside her. Sweetie looked in the direction gestured and spotted two female humans staring at her, both held a book similar and yet different to the book that Theodore was carrying. "Curious isn't she Margaret?" the one with short hair asked the other. The long haired human nodded. "She is indeed. I thought you were joking when you called us in here brother." "I was just as surprised as you were my dear sisters." Theodore nodded. "A guest who does not possess the wild card." "Wait... you're not surprised I'm a small talking pony who can do magic?" Sweetie cocked her head. The short haired girl laughed softly. "We have served much curiouser creatures than you little pony." "Elizabeth." The long haired girl.... Margaret, the other had called her, chastised her before turning her gaze back upon the young filly. "I'd like to apologize on behalf of my younger siblings, they do not understand as much of the worlds outside ours as they think." Before Sweetie could reply, Margaret had opened her book and cast a glare at her sister as she drew a Persona card. "Come Elizabeth, i shall teach you another lesson in manners." With that declaration she closed her book and shattered the card, causing a large humanoid creature garbed in white and wielding a large spear to appear beside her. "Oh sister, you always take things so seriously." Elizabeth smirked as she drew a card from her own book, "But I will indulge you and take yet another try at defeating you." With her own declaration finished she closed her book and shattered the card in one motion, causing a rather large humanoid, dressed in a dark blue coat and encircled by a ring of coffins. A white helmet looking object sat over it's face and holding a large sword in it's claws to appear behind her. Igor chuckled, drawing Sweetie's attention back to him. "Such spirit in those girls. They are the holders of the Persona compendiums, lists of the creatures of the heart that the users of the wild card are free to swap between at anytime. Had you a wielder of the wild card, Theodore here would be holding a compendium for the Persona's you would be using." the long nosed human smile creepily. "But back to the matter at hand, I have summoned you here because there is something I wish to clarify about you. Would you kindly summon your Persona." "Uh....Sure...." Sweetie focused her magic, pushing aside the regular green mana that she called her own, drawing forth the power of her heart, her horn took on a blue glow as a sheath of blue fire appeared around the appendage. The small card appeared in front of her and with a flick of her hoof she shattered it, allowing the large suit of pony shaped armor to appear in front of her. roiling blue mass of energy inside the armor pulsed with black lightning. "Hmm... most interesting..." Igor's smile widened while Theodore's mouth curved into a small frown. "Thank you my dear. That is all I needed. I shall send you back to the land of the waking now, but worry not. the professor and his assistant will be ready to help you should you need it." Igor waved his hand in a small arc. "Until we meet again..." September 15th, 1006 PNM Sweetie groaned and opened her eyes slowly. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light that was streaming in from the window. "Hey. I think she's waking up." she heard somepony whisper nearby. When her sight was clear enough she noticed that she was in a bed, she could tell just by feel that it was her own. "Ugghh... how long was I out?" "About ten hourth." the voice that had to belong to Twist stated. "We had Applebloom heal you while you were out, Dead Time happened again while you were out." a voice that sounded like Scootaloo's answered. Sweetie shook her head, trying to clear out the sleep fuzz. "it did?" "Yeah." Diamond Tiara answered from the door way. "Twist said she was able to detect two active Persona's in town, but she wasn't able to find the wielders before time returned to normal." Silver Spoon added from a chair next to Sweetie's bed. "Where did you girls all sleep?" Sweetie asked. "Scootaloo and ah took your sister's bed. Diamond and Silver used the spare room and a couple of campin' cots that were in there and Twist slept on the couch downstairs." Applebloom told her. "Any news on our assailants?" the unicorn asked as she rolled out of bed and onto her hooves, rolling her neck and shoulders. "Dewey found Icing and took her to the hospital." Scootaloo yawned before nudging Applebloom. "But there is somethin' you should know Sweetie." Applebloom said as she stepped forward and laid a piece of paper down on the ground. "That was at the foot of your sister's bed." Her horn glowed a pale green as she lifted the paper and glanced at it. The image showed a pair of colts from school. The brothers, Snips and Snails, falling into a void while screaming. "To steal a line from Twilight, Celestia in the sun..." "Well Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked, her orange wings buzzing. "Well what?" Sweetie asked back. "What are we gonna do?" Diamond clarified. Silver Spoon nodded. "How do we prepare for this? What do we need to stock up on, how are we gonna go about doing this?" "Why are you asking me?" The unicorn filly asked, looking at each of her friends in turn. "We took a vote while you were pathed out." Twist told her. "And dethided that you thould be our leader." "Ah mean, you were already actin' as commander while we were in combat and the comic world." Applebloom spoke up with a smile. "So it only seemed natural to make it official." "So then... I'll ask again." Scootaloo smirked at the look of disbelief on Sweeties face. "Well leader?" After a few seconds Sweetie shook the shock from her body and cleared her throat. "Well then, Crusaders... listen up!"