//------------------------------// // Maze of high-rise nightmares. // Story: Ponysona: Arcana Crusaders // by Phoenix Kitten //------------------------------// New party members! Tammy Wispermint "Twist": level 15 Persona: Heliogabalus: level 15/ Arcana: Star Equipment: Head: Thick glasses Body: n/a Hooves: n/a Weapon: n/a Skills: Third eye, Partial Insight, Calming Fragrance. ---------------------------------- Sunny Skye Dash: level 16 Persona: Trumpeter: level 15/ Arcana: Judgement Equipment: Head: Sweatband Body: Soccer jersey: Def 15 Hooves: Soccer cleat horseshoes: Eva 12 Weapon: Soccer Ball: Dam: 24 Hit: 73 Skills: Mahamoan, Agidyne, Masukunda, Dekaja The seven fillies gawked about in awe at their new location as skyscrapers forty stories tall surrounded the three floor apartment block they had started on Towers of opaque glass and steel mingled with their brick and mortar elders as far as the eye could see. "Th-this ain't the small city we normally end up in...." Applebloom gulped as she gripped her quarter staff pitchfork. Scootaloo nodded as she looked around. "This place is massive. It's like..." "A forest." Sweetie finished for her, eyeing the blue glow of the Velvet Room's door in the side of the stairwell entrance. Silver Spoon looked around the group. "Hmm...." "Bit for your thoughth Thilver?" Twist asked "I was just thinking... our group is getting a bit big don't you think?" The grey earthpony spoke up. "It'd be hard for Twist to keep track of all of us at once in a combat situation." "And it'd be hard for Sweetie to give decent orders at the same time." Diamond added, catching on. "There are seven of us..." Sunny nodded. "Six of us are combat ready, somepony would have to stay behind to watch over Twist while she does her work." They all nodded before Sweetie spoke up. "Well.. Captain Armor said that squads of guards are often deployed in fours." Silver Spoon nodded. "My dad says the same thing. A group of two is too small, a group of five is too large. Three and four are the perfect numbers to move quickly and efficiently." "That meanth two of you are going to have to thtay back and guard me." Twist noted. "I gueth we have to leave that up to Thweetie to dethide." All eyes turned to the sole unicorn of the group as she furrowed her brow in thought. "Applebloom. Your Persona can heal and this is unknown territory. You're with me." "Aye Aye ma'am." Applebloom saluted and made her way to Sweetie's side. "Silver Spoon. You're the most well rounded among us. With me." the white filly nodded to the grey earthpony. "Yes Ma'am." Silver saluted, taking a place opposite Applebloom. "Sunny. I want to see what you can do. With me." Sweetie pointed at the teal pegasus. "Alright." Sunny nodded, moving behind Sweetie and completing the small diamond. "Scootaloo, Diamond, You're the fastest and strongest of us, so I'll leave guarding Twist up to you." the unicorn nodded to the remaining two fillies. In semi unison, they saluted and moved over to where Twist was standing, taking up positions to guard her. "Twist, are we set?" Sweetie asked. "Give me a thecond...." The cream earthpony smiled and adjusted her glasses, the lenses reflecting the blue glow of her Persona card before she tapped it. "Perthona! Heliogabaluth, Extend!" The card shattered, loosing a swarm of ladybugs, the majority of which began buzzing around Twist herself. Four bugs flew out and landed in the manes of the combat team, connecting them telepathically to Twist. "Tethting tethting....can you all hear me?" "Loud and clear." Sweetie responded. "Ah hear ya." Applebloom nodded. "Ten-four." Silver snapped off. "Yup." Sunny shrugged. "Okay then... I have your vitalth and locationth marked...thomehow.... I think a bunch of the ladybugth have put their wingth together like a thcreen....it'th...kind of odd." Twist's voice echoed through their heads. "I can't thee much of the thity though... I hope it fillth in the more you girlth move through it." "That'd be bad if it didn't." Silver nodded. "We wouldn't be able to find our way back." "Well we won't find out just standing here." Sweetie smirked. "Crusaders. Move out!" She ordered before charging forward and leaping off the edge of the building, the other combat team members following suit. "That didn't take long!" Silver yelled as she parried a polkadotted manticore's tail stinger with her sword before catching it in an upswing and cutting it's face in half, leaping onto the defeated shadows back and using the explosion to propel herself to Sweetie's side, helping the unicorn fend off a large blue and yellow Timberwolf tied to a ball and chain. "Applebloom, we need a fog cover!" Sweetie called out as Nightmare pummeled the wolves head into splinters with it's hoof. "Ah'm on it! Sunny cover me!" The yellow earthpony called out before pulling back slightly and summoning Gaia. "Right." Sunny responded, catching her balls rebound by chesting it into the air and leaping up, kicking it backwards over her head and through a pair of Shadow's hoping to catch Applebloom off guard. The ball rebounded off a building and shot through another Shadow's head before the pegasus filly headed it and bounced it on her head. "Trumpeter! Slow 'em down!" She called, out letting her ball fall through her Persona card and summoning up the skeletal figure who played a note, creating gusts of heavy wind, forcing the Shadows to brace themselves or get blown away. The purple mist the Appleblooms Persona released was caught up in the wind and blown right into the shadow's weakening them further. "Sunny!" Sweetie called out. "Alright." Sunny nodded. "Mamudo!" "Mahamoan!" "Silver Spoon! You're up!" Sweetie told the earthpony next to her. Silver Spoon nodded and drew her blade, cleaving her Persona card in two as pillars of dark flame and holy light erupted around her. "Khione! Blade of Fury!" The ice fairy burst forth from the cards remains and formed a sword out of ice before flying out side of the battle area and creating waves of cutting ice, cutting any shadows who managed to dodge the dark and holy assault in half, ending the battle. As the Persona's returned to their wielders bodies, the four fillies panted and wiped their brows. "S-Strange... I'm not as tired as I normally am after a fight in here." Silver noticed as she sheathed her sword and flexed her foreleg. Sweetie nodded, her nose twitching slightly. "Does anypony else smell that?" "Yeah. I do...what is it?" Sunny asked. "I feel...more alert but.. calm at the same time." "Ah know that smell!" Applebloom declared. "That's peppermint. The same kind that Twist uses in her Pepppermint sticks!" "Wait... you girlth can thmell my peppermint thtickth? But I didn't bring any with me." Twist's confused voice sounded through their heads. "But if it'th helping you feel better after a fight I gueth it can't be anything bad." "I'll second that... it's like some of the stress of the battle just wore off." Sweetie nodded. "Wait... your mana levelth are up by five perthent what they were during combat... and your pulses are all lower than they were a few thecondth ago... it'th like the thmell ith healing you..." Twist reported, awe creeping into her voice. "Well it's helpful... if it's something that happened because of you Twist, that's going to make things a lot easier." Sunny said as she stretched. "Can we get moving again already?" Sweetie nodded. "Right, we did come here to save Snips and Snails. Let's keep moving Crusaders!"