//------------------------------// // Chapter 33: Shade // Story: Persona: Innocent Wish // by Trismegistus //------------------------------// The sun had only just begun to set. Arata could already feel the fatigue of the day wearing away at his resolve. Since Vox’s death, every day had become like this. He would do all he could until this feeling of lethargy set in, then he would return home and go to sleep. This had only been the case for about a week, but none the less it was beginning to feel like this wouldn’t be changing anytime soon. Ivory Shield had asked that he stay at camp for most of the night, though she neglected to tell him why. He had made himself a bed in one of the remaining tents and had tried to sleep, but despite his best effort, sleep wouldn’t come. He waited outside of the tent for Ivory Shield, watching the gently falling snow. She showed up only a few minutes late with Triage in tow. Triage was weighed down by several bags, along with a machete and heavy jacket; it was a particularly cold night. “Ready to go, Arata?” Ivory Shield asked tossing him the jacket he wore into the lake. “Yes, but you still haven’t said what we’re doing.” He replied slipping on the jacket. Ivory took the machete from Triage, “We’re going to go make sure nothing has come out of the lake since the last time we were there. I would have gone myself, but without a Persona I don’t know how much use I can be.” “And I was roped in to make sure you don’t get hurt too badly,” Triage chimed in. “All right, just make sure you two stay close in case there is something we need to worry about.” Arata added. Fighting his fatigue he began the trek that would take them out to the lake. … The swamp had changed since the last time Arata had ventured into it. He was unsure why, but the swamp felt as if it had less life. There was a still silence that hung after the sound of every step. Most of the trees had begun to wither as well, though all of this was most likely due to the onset of winter. “We’re getting closer,” Arata said to Triage, who stood between him and Ivory Shield. “Hey, you two…” Triage said seeming to ignore Arata, “I, I don’t feel too good.” “What’s wrong?” Ivory Shield asked walking up next to her. “I... don-” Before her sentence finished, she collapsed to the ground. “Triage!” Ivory shouted stepping to her aid. “Arata did you see what happened to her?” Aarata didn’t respond. When Ivory turned, she saw him staring at Triage, as if he saw something that she could not. Ivory paused for a moment to think. Triage was already unconscious. Whatever was happening had already taken a steep toll on her, but there had to be something she could do to stop this. “Arata, I’m going to take Triage out of here. I need your help to lift her.” Ivory ordered. “Wait!” Arata shouted, his voice unsure, but not panicked; it carried a tone of curiosity. “You can’t see the fog around her, can you?” Ivory looked down to Triage once more. “No, I can’t. What do you think it is?” “It looks the same as the fog we saw around the lake, but it’s almost like a tendril wrapping its way all around her.” Arata explained. “What would you say we do instead?” Ivory asked. “We should follow the mist, and stop it at the source.” Arata answered, tracing the path it made between the trees. “I don’t want to take that risk. Leaving her here like this. You can go ahead, you have a Persona and I don’t. I’ll see what I can do for her here.” Ivory insisted, not appreciating the suggested course of action. “I’m not going to let any pony else die on my watch.” “All right,” Arata said taking the first step towards the mist. He felt a shiver of hesitation as he lay his hoof on the ground. ‘No,’ he thought, ‘I can’t hesitate now. Foalsdale is counting on me. Everypony who stayed is counting on me, and all of my friends are counting on me.’ He stepped forward again, and again, Ivory Shield’s voice was growing ever fainter with each passing step. Soon the trees surrounding the enchanted lake had engulfed Arata, and he could see nothing behind him. … “I hope to Celestia he knows what he’s doing,” Ivory said with the faint hope that Triage would respond. But no response came. She carefully lifted Triage onto her back, as she did Ivory felt a faint tingling, almost a mist, begin to overtake her entire presence. At that moment, she felt something calling to her; a presence, familiar, yet somehow very distant. It was a presence she had only felt once before, Dragoon. Though she had only summoned her Persona once, it always felt as if it were waiting for her call, just in the back of her mind. Now she could feel it once more, but there was something different than before. In the lake, once she had felt her Persona’s call, she could reach out and pull it forth, now it seemed she couldn’t touch it at all. Instead it seemed to have come to her aid, at a time when she would have been unable to defend herself. The Persona did not manifest itself in full though, it was merely a barrier between her and the mist that had drained the energy from Triage. All she could do was hope that it proved strong enough in its currents state to allow the two to retreat to safety. … Arata had walked this path enough times to know the lake was just beyond the next row of trees. Despite this firm knowledge, the mist that had fully engulfed the once snowy section of the forest and every step Arata took made him unsure. He paused, if his memory was correct he had gone too far, he should have passed the shore several steps back. He didn’t see any trees around him, although even when he was surrounded by trees, the mist had grown so dense that he could not see any of them. He continued to stand, considering where he was. The thought had occurred that he may have fallen into the lake. Perhaps all of this was an elaborate illusion designed by the new found power of the being trapped within. This was quickly dispelled by a quick examination of the ground he stood on. His hooves were gently standing on the surface of the lake itself. More than that, he felt as if Pendragon was somehow shielding him from the mist he was surrounded by. “This is most unexpected,” a voice laughed from all directions at once. “I didn’t think those Personas I allowed you to have would be of any use to you outside of the lake, but it seems I was wrong.” Arata’s head darted back and forth trying to find the voice that mocked him once more. It was Morgana, the one who had granted his wish, and more, the one responsible for all of the death that seemed to follow him. “You know, I was wrong about my powers only once before. It was back when I fought valiantly against that bearded one to defend my kingdom. I could have sworn that I would have been able to defeat him with my magic, and the magic that my subjects so kindly lent me-” The voice trailed off for just a moment. “You aren’t being nearly as fun as last time, Arata. Did I upset you? I wouldn’t want to make my favorite subject, well second favorite subject, angry. Besides Vox, you are the only friend I have.” The voice waivered as she fought back laughter. “I’ve done so much for you already, and I know oh so much about you, the least you could do is act a little appreciative.” “Pendragon.” A gleaming tarot card appeared before Arata and the black dragon rose out of the fog behind him. “Put that away before you hurt yourself,” Morgana scoffed. “You don’t have nearly enough power to challenge your queen.” Pendragon let out a blast of wind, trying to clear the mist from the lake. “Fine, before I was trapped in this lake I knew hundreds upon hundreds of ponies who would have happily trampled one another for just a second of my time. But here you are with my undivided attention, and even my favor, and you don’t even seem appreciative. I don’t usually tolerate rude subjects, but as I said earlier, I like you. I will take my leave now, but I will leave you with a gift. A friend for you to talk to, please raise all of you concerns to her.” A defined shape appeared out of the din of mist. It stood on the water just as Arata did, taking even, measured paces towards him. “Hello Arata,” He couldn’t believe what he saw. Standing before him was an apparition that looked and sounded exactly as Vox had weeks ago. “Vox?!” Arata exclaimed with a mix of fear, panic, and excitement. “No.” The apparition stated in a dull voice, that, while clearly belonging to Vox, had the life drained from it. “I am similar to your Vox, I was spawned from her feelings and consciousness, but I am not her.” “Then what are you? I… if you are going to attack me Morgana, I won’t hesitate to destroy this thing.” But Morgana never answered his question, instead the apparition took another step forward. “Consider me as a ‘Shade of Vox’. I am her and something entirely new at once. I have seen death, and now I come before you, so I may help ease you into this eternal slumber one day as well.” Arata didn’t know how to respond to any of this. It felt as though he were speaking to Vox, but this thing, this shade, was not her. He wanted to scream, he wanted to run, but instead he chose to exercise his courage. “Fine, you can teach me about death, but I won’t go down easily, you can tell Morgana that.” Arata felt an echoing inside his mind “Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Death Arcana.” ‘An arcana,’ Arata thought, ‘Maybe Vox is in there after all.’ “An excellent choice, please come here at midnight on another day, so we may converse freely.” And with those words the shade disappeared. … Ivory watched as Arata stepped out of the forest, he had a fire in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. “What happened Arata?” She asked. Arata decided not to mention the shade of Vox, not now at least. “This is all the Alicorn’s doing, she is using he magic to blanket the forest. How is Triage doing?” “She’s fine now that she was pulled back. What was doing this?” “It was Morgana’s magic, it looks like our Personas are the only reason we didn’t get effected by it. We need to make sure no pony else enters the swamp anymore.” Arata concluded. “Right, I’ve got a few ideas, we’ll talk at camp,” And the two carried the doctor out of the swamp…