Vacation time was over. The killer had struck again, and this time there was no way that it was one of the group. More than one of the group hoped dearly that whoever was in the other world at the moment could tell them more about the case than they already knew, but they knew it probably wasn't going to happen. Everyone was meeting in the barn to make sure they were prepared before they went--they didn't want any situation like the Shadow Pinkie fight. So far, everyone was there except for--ironically enough--Applejack.
"Hey Pinkie," Rainbow said. "Once we're in there, do you think you can find out who's been kidnapped with your Persona?"
"I dunno," Pinkie replied. "I guess it's worth a shot."
"I figure you'll be able to tell where they are, at least," Spike chimed in. "But I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
The barn door swung open, and Applejack entered with saddlebags stuffed to the top. "Ready to go!" she exclaimed.
"Pray tell, Applejack...what are you taking in those bags?" Rarity asked.
"Oh, I'm makin' sure I'm prepared for anything we run into! I got a lasso, some safety goggles, a flashlight...the works. Sorry I couldn't pack fer everypony."
"...Well, it's good that you're being thorough," Twilight said. "Anypony need to use the bathroom before we leave?"
Everyone said no. It wouldn't do to have any distractions.
"Pinkie? I don't want to--"
"I said no!"
"Okay, good. Let's get going."
The other world didn't seem to be different at all when the group entered. As the group descended, they couldn't see anything new. They decided that leaving wasn't an option, however--after all, the killer was still at large.
As soon as everyone landed, Rainbow took to the air again. "I'll go look by myself for more buildings or whatever!"
"You sure about that?" Applejack asked. "What if you run into Shadows?"
"Then I'll kick the crap out of 'em! Simple." With that, Rainbow flew off.
Twilight turned towards Pinkie. "Can you start scanning for other ponies?"
Pinkie nodded. She summoned Aurora, who put the heart-scouter over her eye. She stayed silent as she scanned.
Rainbow came back. "Yeah, there's nothing."
"That sure was fast," Twilight said.
"Look at who you're talking to!"
"Good point."
"I sense somepony!" Pinkie exclaimed. "...Wait...there's more than one..."
Everyone turned to Pinkie as she continued scanning. "Can you tell how many there are?" Spike asked.
Pinkie nodded after a few seconds. "There are six of them. But...something is weird about all of them. They feel like...more. More than just...regular ponies."
"...I don't get it."
"Could they be Shadows?" Rainbow asked.
"No...Shadows feel different. If it were just Shadows, I could tell."
"Well, let's go see what's going on, then," Twilight said. "Where are they?"
"The room where you guys fought Fluttershy in the arena, looks like."
"Then there's no time to waste. Let's go."
The colosseum hadn't changed since the last time the group had been there. As they walked through the hall, they could even see where Rainbow had been blinded with rage and taken chunks out of the walls. One thing that struck them as odd, however, was that there were no Shadows at all. It was especially strange because this was the only place that they hadn't completely cleared out before.
"Wait!" Pinkie suddenly exclaimed. "Something...isn't right!"
"Besides the lack of Shadows?" Spike asked.
Pinkie nodded. "...We're being watched."
"All right, that's about all I can take of this!" Rainbow yelled. She suddenly summoned Hayabusa. "I'm going in!"
"Alone?!" Twilight demanded. "Are you crazy?!"
"We have a job to do! I'm gonna see who these ponies are and get them out of here before whatever is watching us has the chance to ambush us!"
Before Twilight could say anything more, Rainbow rushed ahead. The rest of the group followed, of course, but they were nowhere near as fast.
"Do you feel deja vu as well, Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"Yep," Twilight replied bemusedly.
Rainbow had already gotten to the final room by the time the others had gotten to the room before it. They couldn't hear anything from the next room except for Rainbow's hoofsteps. They hurried into the arena to join her...and they found no one but her and Hayabusa.
"Well, that's weird," Spike said. "Where in the world are they?"
"I'll do another scan." Pinkie focused as Aurora put her heart-scouter over her eye again. "They're in this room, I can tell that for sure..."
"The jig is up, whoever you are!" Rainbow yelled. "Show yourselves!"
There was a tense silence. It persisted for nearly ten seconds before a slightly familiar voice broke it. "It would seem that we've been discovered."
Six ponies suddenly walked out from behind the bleachers. The group recognized all of them, and it appeared that they recognized the group as well. They were ponies that they frequently saw around town--namely Derpy Hooves, Octavia Melody, Lyra Heartstrings, Vinyl Scratch, Bon Bon, and Time Turner.
"What in the hay are y'all doin' here?!" Applejack asked.
"We could ask you the same question," Time Turner said in a slightly threatening tone. "But...the fact that you're here today and that you have Personas answers that question for us."
"What're you talking about?" Rainbow demanded.
"Everyone, on guard!" Time Turner planted his hooves and glared harshly at the group. "We're not letting these murderers leave!"
"MURDERERS?!" Twilight's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in anger. "Who do you think you are?! We--"
Twilight was interrupted as each member of the opposing group closed their eyes...and floating Tarot cards appeared near them. They were all shattered at the same time. Derpy Hooves had summoned an old man in a toga with a book in one hand; Octavia had summoned a small, female bird with a human head and a ribbon; Lyra had summoned a man with a lyre that was only covered by a scarf that resembled a musical staff; Vinyl brought forth a humanoid machine whose parts were separate, but held together by an unseen force; Time Turner had a man that appeared to have an hourglass for a torso and wielded an axe-bladed pendulum; and Bon Bon summoned a woman in a flowing gown with a large veil that resembled a pair of wings.
"W-wait!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "We can talk this out!"
"It's too late for that!" Twilight yelled. "They're attacking! We need to defend ourselves!"
Everyone summoned their own Personas as the opposing Personas sans Bon Bon's charged towards them. Stonewall stood in front of the others and braced herself. Time Turner's Persona took a swing at her, but his pendulum bounced off with no trouble. Stonewall retaliated with a bone-shattering punch that sent the opponent sprawling.
"Gah! Bon Bon, scan them!" Time Turner yelled.
Bon Bon's Persona put its veil over her eyes, and she closed her eyes in focus for a few seconds. "Disable Applejack! If she's out of the picture, we'll be pretty even!"
"You heard her, Lyra! Get it done!"
Lyra nodded. Her Persona strummed his hands across his lyre, and Stonewall suddenly disappeared. Applejack put a hoof over her mouth in shock.
"Applejack! What's wrong?!" Spike asked frantically. He only had enough time to ask that before Atlas was blasted with fire, causing him to take a step back.
"She's been silenced!" Pinkie yelled. "As long as she's like this, she can't use her Persona!"
"Oh, are you SERIOUS?!" Rainbow demanded. "Now you're in for it! I'm gonna tear you guys apart!"
Hayabusa tried to go for Lyra's Persona, but Vinyl's cut her off. At the same time, Octavia's Persona confronted Merlin, Lyra's faced Naravirala, Derpy's focused on Atlas, and Time Turner's shifted his attention to Ace of Spades. Meanwhile, Aurora put her scouter over Pinkie's eye again, and she started scanning each Persona individually.
"I will give you one chance to turn yourselves in," Time Turner said in a low voice. "If you do not comply, then we will have to make you do so with force."
"Just you try!" Twilight shot back. "We're not giving up now! Not after everything we've been through!"
This only seemed to make the opposing group angry. "Oh, that's how you feel about it?! What about what WE'VE been through?!" Vinyl demanded. Her Persona grabbed Hayabusa's shoulders forcefully. Hayabusa struggled in vain to break free, and she was suddenly assaulted by electric shocks. Rainbow's knees buckled, but she managed to keep standing.
"I feel like we're having two different discussions here," Fluttershy said meekly. Naravirala barely managed to avoid being frozen as Lyra's Persona played a chord on his lyre.
"Enough! If you have something to say, let your actions speak for you!" Time Turner exclaimed.
Time Turner's Persona accented these words by swinging his pendulum at Ace of Spades. He blocked the attack, and the two attacked each other afterwards at once. Their weapons were hidden by the speed of their motions, and the only sign that they were fighting were the sounds of their blades hitting each other. Just when it seemed as if Ace of Spades had the upper hand, his opponent jumped back. Ace of Spades flew forward to pursue, but stopped again when the opponent's blade was suddenly wreathed with flames. Ace of Spades tried to keep his distance, but Time Turner's Persona was too fast--he slammed the fiery blade into him, knocking both him and Rarity to the floor.
"Oh, this is bad," Pinkie said. "You're all in a bad matchup! Their Personas are using what you're weak to!"
"Oh, that is SO not cool!" Rainbow yelled.
"If you have time to complain, you have time to do something about it!" Vinyl exclaimed. "Helena, take her out!"
Vinyl's Persona let loose a huge stream of lightning. Hayabusa tried to dodge it, but there was too much of it to weave through, and she didn't have time to go around it. Rainbow buckled, but she wasn't about to give up. Hayabusa tried to slash through Helena's body, but her body parts separated enough for the strike to go right through her. She moved so that her pieces surrounded Hayabusa, then rapidly reformed to try and crush her. She only barely managed to avoid the attack. As she was recovering, Helena's arms and legs flew towards her, taking themselves apart as they did so. They surrounded Hayabusa on all sides once again, keeping her from moving as Helena launched another stream of lightning from her hands. Rainbow was only barely conscious by this point.
"It's no use...I can't even land a hit!" Rainbow said wearily.
Naravirala turned towards Rainbow Dash, but before she could go to her assistance, Lyra took the chance to trap her within a huge block of ice. Fluttershy was similarly frozen. Time Turner's Persona rushed over and embedded the blade of his pendulum into the ice surrounding Fluttershy, then hoisted her up into the air and threw her into Ace of Spades. Rarity hit the wall along with her Persona. Meanwhile, Hayabusa forced her way out of the makeshift cage and tried to hit Helena with a twister. Octavia's Persona caught wind of this, however, and grabbed Merlin's arm in her talons. Twilight was distracted by the sharp pain in her foreleg, allowing her opponent to throw Merlin into the tornado. Merlin was thrown into the ceiling, and Twilight couldn't stay on her hooves. This gave Helena the chance to retaliate with yet another burst of electricity, sending Rainbow sprawling. Spike ran over to tend to them, and in his distraction, Derpy's Persona summoned a cloud of pink energy above the two combatants. A bolt of energy struck down from the cloud and exploded, enveloping Atlas and sending him flying.
"Are you ready to give up yet?" Lyra asked smugly.
"Not...on...your life!" Spike replied. "I'm not done yet! Just you try and beat me!"
Atlas aimed his free hand at Derpy's Persona, launching his signature energy blasts. She dodged them all with aplomb, however, and soon, Helena's body parts wrapped around Atlas's limbs, serving as makeshift handcuffs. He tried to free himself, but to no avail.
"All right! That's a wrap!" Vinyl exclaimed with a laugh. "You're all beaten, Spike and Applejack are out of the picture, and Pinkie isn't even a threat. We won!"
Applejack glared at the enemy group with a fire in her eyes. She couldn't say anything to them due to her condition, but the glare was enough to scare a dragon.
"Let go of him..." Rarity suddenly said.
"What was that?" Vinyl asked.
Rarity's legs shook violently as she struggled to stand back up. She planted her hooves on the ground, standing as firmly as she could. It took her a few seconds, but she made it to her feet. Once she was up, she looked at Vinyl with fire in her eyes. "LET GO OF SPIKE!"
Suddenly, Ace of Spades was back on his feet again. Time Turner's Persona lit his pendulum ablaze once again, but Ace of Spades went right past him. He aimed his free hand at Helena's main body, freezing her solid. Helena's separated body parts fell off of Atlas, and he as he picked up his globe again, Spike saw his chance. He went over to Fluttershy and breathed a steady stream of fire onto the ice surrounding her, freeing both herself and Naravirala.
"Finally, I've got it!" Pinkie yelled. "Dashie, Rarity, switch targets! Twilight, use lightning! Fluttershy, fight back as hard as you can! Spike, take this!"
Aurora flew away from Pinkie's head and towards Spike. She punched him in the gut, and he glowed with multi-colored light.
"What in the world is that supposed to be?" Derpy asked.
Spike slowly turned towards Derpy, his eyes turning nothing short of feral. He smiled at her in a way that would unnerve just about anyone. "Are you ready to GO?!"
The battle started anew. Though Time Turner and Vinyl tried to fight their original targets, Hayabusa was too fast and Ace of Spades too stubborn for them to do so. Fluttershy focused her efforts on offense, and Merlin started using lightning spells.
As for Spike, he immediately went on an unstoppable rampage. Atlas launched attack after attack with no break in between, and though Derpy's Persona managed to dodge nearly all of them, there was no time for him to retaliate whatsoever. Each attack hit with the force and speed of a freight train.
"What in the world is this?!" Derpy demanded.
"You pile of horse apples, you're MINE!" Spike shot back. "You are SO DEAD right now!"
Atlas suddenly tackled Derpy's Persona to the ground. He let out a deafening roar before lifting his globe with both hands and slamming it into his rival's face. He lifted it back up only to slam it down again four times. Once that was done, he took a moment to observe the enemy's condition. His target was just barely conscious, and he decided to go in for the kill. He took a few steps back from the opponent and waited for him to get up. Just as it seemed he was about to retaliate, Atlas suddenly roared once again, but with much more volume. The ground under his enemy's feet erupted with energy, encasing him in it and sending him flying. He hit the ceiling and faded, and Derpy fell over, defeated. She fluttered in and out of consciousness.
"This is bad!" Bon Bon yelled. "Spike's power has increased tremendously! We have to--"
Applejack suddenly bopped Spike on the head, knocking off the rainbow-colored aura and leaving him in a daze. He shook his head back and forth to regain his composure, then laughed sheepishly.
"Why would you do that?" Time Turner asked. "You had a clear advantage with his power boost."
"Because a hyperactive Spike is just as dangerous to us as he is to you," Twilight replied. "Besides, now we outnumber you again. We STILL have a clear advantage."
Time Turner's eyes narrowed. "Then come and get us."
Unfortunately for Time Turner, the group was happy to oblige. Merlin, Naravirala, Ace of Spades, and Hayabusa each blasted their opponents with a spell of their element, sending them flying. They each tried to go back to the battlefield, but Atlas launched a large mass of energy into the sky above them. Three small spheres descended from this mass, spiraling around each other as they fell. The instant they hit the ground, there was a small flash.
"Well," Bon Bon said. "We're done for."
The flash dissipated, and in its place was an enormous explosion. Everyone present had to brace themselves just to stay on their hooves. The light shed by the explosion blinded everyone, but they could feel its impact shake the very foundation of the world they were in.
It felt like forever, but everyone was finally able to open their eyes. The enemy group was down for the count, but that was far from the most surprising thing about what had transpired. The colosseum was no more. The yellow sky of the shadow world was there for all to see, and where there was once an arena, there was now only rubble. Only a few tiny sections of wall remained, and even they crumbled as time passed. Dust and smoke hung in the air like the fog.
Twilight walked over to Time Turner, who was only just barely conscious. He looked up at her with contempt. "So...I suppose this is it, huh...?"
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked. Her voice was surprisingly gentle, given the situation.
"You're going to kill us now, aren't you? Finish us off? Isn't that why you threw us in here the first time?"
"No...there's been a misunderstanding here." Twilight waved over the rest of her friends. "We aren't murderers."
"Then why are you here?" Octavia asked. "If you are innocent, then how could you have known about this place?"
"'Cause we're victims like you, moron," Rainbow replied. "The killer is after us, too. Why did you think there were so many of us?"
"But how do we know we can trust you?" Lyra asked. "You could just be trying to make us lower our guard."
"If we wanted to end your lives, why would we wait for that?" Rarity rebutted. "There would be no better opportunity than now to do so."
Applejack nodded. "Hmm mm mmnmmn mmm mm-mmn mm--"
"Oh, you're still silenced!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "I think I can help with that now."
Naravirala's eyes flashed briefly, and Applejack opened her mouth for the first time since the battle started. "Oh, thank Celestia! I owe ya one, Fluttershy!" She turned back towards the others. "Ahem...as Ah was sayin', y'all attacked us first. We were just defendin' ourselves. If we were tryin' to kill y'all, wouldn't we be a bit more proactive about it?"
"...I suppose that's true," Octavia said.
"I believe it's a safe assumption to say that your Personas were achieved in a similar fashion to ours," Time Turner interjected. "You all faced your Shadows, correct?"
"Every one of us except for me," Twilight replied. "Let's get out of here for now, and I'll explain. It's hard to breathe in here!"
Everyone went back to the usual entrance. Before they left, Fluttershy had healed the other group so that they could walk and defend themselves if Shadows ambushed them. Once they got there, Twilight explained everything that had happened up to this point. The other group took it better than Princess Celestia had--probably because they had experienced it themselves.
"...And you don't know why you got your Persona?" Lyra asked.
Twilight shook her head. "It just happened. But what about you guys?"
"What do you mean?" Time Turner asked.
"Well, for something like this, there had to be a catalyst of some kind. None of us would've gotten our Personas if I didn't get mine, so Merlin was the catalyst for us. What was yours?"
"Believe it or not, Turner was actually able to man up to his faults," Derpy said. "He's the only one of us that did."
"It was only because I was without witness," Time Turner added, turning towards her. "If any of you had gone in first, you probably would have owned up as well."
Rainbow cleared her throat. "Yeah, enough with the modesty thing. How come we never heard about you guys being kidnapped if it was happening all this time?"
"We have two theories regarding that," Octavia replied. "One is that the culprit has been using his memory charm to wipe the incidents away from any witnesses before it can reach public eye."
Bon Bon sighed. "The other is that the killer is just REALLY good at going incognito."
"So the whole time, he's been working on two fronts!" Spike exclaimed. "This could be a huge help in finding out who he is. Was there any sign when he kidnapped one of you guys?"
Time Turner shook his head. "It was completely random. To be safe, we met up every day, and if one of us was absent, we came here to see if they had been kidnapped."
"Well, why did you come here today, then?" Pinkie asked. "I mean, if you all have Personas..."
"We wanted practice as a group, in case something else came up," Bon Bon explained. "And boy, did we get it."
"Oh, so THAT'S why all the Shadows were gone!" Spike exclaimed.
Bon Bon nodded. "This was the only place where there were enough to make a visit worthwhile."
"Well, it seems that everything is cleared up," Time Turner said. "And now that it has been, I would like to propose an alliance."
"Yeah, I think we'd be much better allies than enemies," Twilight replied, nodding in agreement. "But at the same time...six ponies taking out Shadows is one thing, but thirteen might be too large of a group. We'll get in each other's way, especially since you guys seem to use the same elements that we do."
"Indeed. What I'm suggesting is that we continue on the path that we took before, but to be able to rely on each other should a great need arise. There are some battles that even you or we may not be able to win alone."
"Works for me!" Rainbow yelled. "I dunno if this was the murderer's intention, but they REALLY slipped up this time!"
"...Wait a minute, that reminds me..." Fluttershy looked both confused and concerned. "Did the murderer bring anypony here today?"
There was a long moment of silence. Everyone exchanged glances in turn until Time Turner cleared his throat. "Bon Bon...if you would."
"Oh! Right, sorry." Bon Bon summoned her Persona again, and she immediately placed the veil in its place over her eyes.
"Am I the only one who thinks that's ironic?" Pinkie asked.
"What, that she scans by putting a veil over her eyes? No, you aren't," Derpy said.
Bon Bon's Persona faded away, and she shook her head. "Nopony's here."
"How can you be sure? Maybe we should have Pinkie run a scan too," Applejack said worriedly.
"Trust me--if Seshat can't sense it, nothing can," Bon Bon replied. "Aurora's a decent scanner, but she traded some of her skill in that area for that...boost thingy."
"How do ya know all that?"
"How do you think? I sensed it."
"Well, I guess we have no reason to stay here," Twilight announced. "The killer must be running out of options. We've got him on the run now, and all we have to do is finish the job."
"I couldn't agree more," Time Turner added. "Celestia only knows why he decided to work on two fronts, but whatever his reason is, it shall be his undoing. Let us meet again."
Time Turner and his group waved goodbye, then turned and started walking away.
"Wait, isn't the exit right above us?" Rainbow asked.
"Ours is," Twilight answered. "They use a different entrance."
"They never said they did. How would you know?"
"Because one pegasus doesn't have the energy or the strength to help five other ponies out of here with that exit. We should get going ourselves."
Each pony that could fly grabbed someone that couldn't, and everyone flew towards the exit, knowing that their chances were better than they had ever been.