Persona: Innocent Wish

by Trismegistus

Chapter 10: Longest Night

“In the name of Celestia...” Penzance stood staring into the black night sky. Thirty minutes had passed since the sun was supposed to rise, and it still hadn’t.

“Sir,” Blaze said to Penzance snapping him out of his trance. “We need to figure out what’s going on. If something has happened to Princess Cele-” Blaze was quickly cut off by the former guard captain.

“The Princess has raised the sun every day for over one thousand years. I cannot think of anything that could prevent her from doing it today. There is no force in Equestria that could stop her.” Penzance sternly replied.

“I’m aware sir, but that is all the more reason to act quickly. Something is clearly wrong, and you are the former guard captain. If you leave now you can be in Canterlot within the next few hours. I’m sure they will need your help.” Blaze swiftly responded.

“I agree with Blaze,” Arata chimed in. “We can either stand here staring into the sky or you can try to help, sir.” As Arata finished speaking they were joined by another pony.

“Penzance, what’s going on?” She asked seeming to be more than a little panicked.

“I’m not sure Mayor, something is stopping the Princess from fulfilling her duty,” Penzance softly responded. He had removed his plumed helmet since his worry had set in; there was no hiding the uneasiness in his eyes and the tremor in his voice.

“What should we do? Ponies are starting to ask questions.” The mayor stated trying to stay cool under pressure. No pony had ever stopped to ask ‘What do you do when the sun does not rise?’ but now it was the only thought on everypony’s mind.

“I will take a team to Canterlot and figure out what in the name of harmony is happening.” Penzance stated.

“We have a balloon that you can take there. If you have a few pegasi to spare, they can make the trip a lot faster.” The mayor informed them “I’ll go get the balloon ready.” She darted off and left Arata, Blaze, and Vox with Penzance.

“I will take one of your three, Compass Rose, and Sunburst to Canterlot immediately,” Penzance followed after the mayor.

“Arata, you should go,” Suggested Blaze. “The E.W.E.F might need our help here.”

“Right,” Arata nodded and galloped off after Penzance.

…

The ride to Canterlot was tense for everypony. Arata and Penzance sat in quite anticipation, while Compass Rose and Sunburst worked as hard as they could to get the balloon there quickly.

This was the first time Arata looked closely at moon since the panic began. Something was different about it tonight. Its surface was barren and white; the usual mark on it had vanished.

“Penzance… the moon,” Arata spat out the words.

“No, it can’t be.” He said aghast. “It’s completely barren…” He paused, “The Mare in the Moon may have returned…”

Arata froze at Penzance’s realization. “No… it couldn’t be…”

“We will find out soon enough I suppose.” Penzance said grimly acknowledging the situation.

Canterlot came into view, the white spires shining compared to the darkness around them. In Nippony everypony knew about Canterlot, its beauty was almost mythic. It did not disappoint Arata. Even in a time of so much uncertainty the view filled Arata with a sense of wonder.

As the balloon landed the group was met by two guardsponies.

“Halt, the city is on high alert. State your business.” The guard on the right said strictly, his eyes unmoving from Compass Rose who had the misfortune of being the first one to land.

Penzance wasted no time leaping from the basket to greet the guards. He had put on his helmet and proudly walked toward the two guards.

“Penzance, Sir!” Both guards snapped to attention as Penzance approached.

“At ease stallions,” he continued to walk toward them and gestured for the other ponies to follow. “I am retired now; there is no need for formality. I have come to see if there is anything I can do to help with the situation.”

“Sir,” the stallion bowed his head. “Shining Armor is in the palace dealing with the situation.”

“Then that is where I shall go, Thank you.” Penzance saluted and continued down the path. Arata and the other ponies followed closely behind.

“Sir, are we allowed to go in there?” Arata asked. “I’m sure you can, but we aren’t even in the guard.”

“I will vouch for you, and they will let you in,” Penzance continued to walk with his head fixed strait forward.

The group was almost at the Palace steps when a pegasus pony swooped down and landed in front of them.

“Penzacne, Sir, I’m here to escort you to see Shining Armor.” The guard standing before them was the same as the previous two they had met, except for two features, one it was a pegasus, and two it was a female.

“Ivory Shield, It has been far too long. How did you know I was here?” Penzance asked.

“When I saw the balloon approaching pulled by two pegasi I knew there was only one pony who could be in it. The guards at the platform confirmed my suspicion.” She smiled, something the guard was not prone to do, and led the group forward.

Arata was stunned by the palace; this was truly the shining jewel of Equestria. Two guards at the main door parted allowing them through. Inside, the castle was ominously quiet. There were no guards, or ponies in the hallways, everything was empty.

Ivory Shield led them through a series of halls to the palace’s throne room. At the door were four guards who, again, parted to let them through.

The throne room had been converted into a makeshift command center with a few tables that seemed out of place set in the center. There were EUP guards scattered throughout the room, some standing at attention and others dashing around carrying reports to a stallion in the center.

“Sir!” saluted Ivory Shield. “I present former Guard Captain Penzance.” Penzance stepped forward and saluted.

“Thank you lieutenant,” The white stallion replied. “I’m glad you’re here Penzance. We have no idea what is going on. The guard unit attached to Celestia seems to have vanished, and the ponies we sent out to Ponyville for a report haven’t returned yet. It’s a mess.”

“You seem to be doing a fine job Shining Armor,” Penzance assured him. “To be honest I do not think I would have handled this situation anywhere near as well as you have.” Penzance turned to Arata, “Arata come here.”

With Penzance’s command Arata stepped forward and assumed the best at attention pose he could.

“This is Arata, one of our newest members all the way from Nippony,” Arata wasn’t sure why Penzance was introducing him to the Guard Captain but he appreciated being included. “Arata, helped me come up with the idea that this could very well be the return of the Nightmare Moon.”

“You can’t be serious…” Shining Armor gasped. “What makes you think that?”

“The moon,” Arata said. “The shape of a unicorn, that’s normally there, is gone. It’s barren now.”

“Nightmare Moon back… and if that’s true then she’s already captured Celestia, which is why the sun never rose, and now she’s loose in Ponyville… Twily…” Shining Armor shook himself back to his senses. “Listen up everypony, as of this moment we are assuming the worst. Nightmare Moon has returned, Celsetia is gone, and we have no way to raise the sun.” All of the ponies in the makeshift command room had circled around their leader. “Right now we need to focus on defending Equestria. I want Prince Blueblood brought here immediately, we need to keep him safe. Carterot will remain on high alert. I need EUP Guard ponies sent to each city to ensure there isn’t a panic. We’ll need to organize a defensive force for each, and we need to keep the local governments and Canterlot safe. If Nightmare Moon wants subjects she’ll have to fight for them!” Everypony bursted out into a cheer and they all darted off to organize the groups that would soon be bolstering Equestria’s defenses.

Shining Armor turned his attention back to Penzance and Ivory Shield. “Ivory, I hate to ask this of you-” Shining Armor was interrupted by his subordinate.

“Sir, I would be honored to go to Ponyville,” She quickly responded snapping to attention.

“How’d you know?” He asked with a smile.

“You wouldn’t have come to me for anything less,” She smiled in return.

“And you’re aware of the risk? None of the other scouts have returned,” He warned.

“Yes Sir!” She saluted.

“Then get going, and good luck,” He saluted in return, and Ivory shield ran off unsure of her fate.

“What will you have me do, Captain?” Penzance bowed.

“For now, stay present. I’ll need all of the help I can get,” He turned to another guard pony. “Get these three a room somewhere; it’s going to be a long night…”

…

The walk to the castle residences was silent. The three had been up for an unknown amount of time and the night’s sky was becoming an increasingly unpleasant sight. They continued to walk escorted by a lone guard; no one spoke a word, be it out of respect, fear, or lethargy. Arata still tried to marvel at the palace’s beauty under the moonlight, but it was becoming increasingly difficult; the dim light a constant reminder of their dire situation, for which there seemed to be no escape.

When they arrived at the room the guard ushered them in and left them to their own devices. Compass Rose and Sunburst walked over to the bed and collapsed. Arata walked over to a window and stared blankly at the moon and starry sky.

“Should we try to sleep?” Sunburst asked, not completely expecting an answer.

“If you think you can, you might as well.” Arata mindlessly responded. Somehow his thoughts had managed to drift back to Nippony. Here in Equestria he had a faint idea of what was really going on. But back home there would be nothing to keep them informed. Celestia had so much power over the world, and yet demanded nothing for her service.

“Do you think we will need to fight?” Sunburst further inquired.

“Would you rather live in eternal night?” Compass Rose questioned, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “I don’t just want to sit here and do nothing. There has to be something we can to do help…. Anything!”

“Do you really think we can do anything against something that beat Celestia!?” Sunburst snapped. “She can make it eternal night. What can we do? Fly? Is that supposed to scare her? All you or I could do is kick her into submission!”

“Both of you stop,” Arata said not quite raising his voice. He hung his head as he addressed them. “Fighting isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Arata wished he could summon his persona here and show them that there was a way to fight and that there was something they could do. He had no power outside of the lake, and that only contributed to the helplessness he felt. “Penzance and Shining Armor will come up with something, and even if they don’t the only way we will be able to stop this is by working together. She can’t stop all of us.”

“You’re right,” Sunburst sighed. “I’m sorry Rose; I shouldn’t have gotten so angry.”

“Don’t worry about it, were all on edge right now.” Compass Rose got out of the bed, and walked to the door. “I’m going back to Penzance. It will be better than waiting here.”

“I’m going to try to sleep,” Sunburst pulled over a sheet and closed her eyes.

“I’ll go too,” Arata said “I won’t be able to sleep anytime soon.”

…

“How long do you think it’s been?” Compass asked hesitantly.

“I honestly have no idea,” Arata shrugged. “It feels like it’s been night for a day, but the moon isn’t even moving through the sky so there is no way to know.”

Arata and Compass Rose slowly walked through the palace grounds until they reached the door to the throne room. Shining Armor, Penzance, and a hoofful of guards were standing in the courtyard.

“What are you two doing out here?” Penzance inquired as they closed in.

“We were too restless to sleep,” Compass Rose answered. “Can we stay?”

“I see no harm in it,” responded Shining Armor. “What do you two make of all of this?”

Arata was surprised to hear the guard captain ask his opinion. “I don’t know sir. How could anypony understand what’s happening, or what we could possibly do?”

“And you?” The captain nodded to Compass Rose.

“I don’t know either, but I want to fight. I can’t stand just wait for something to happen, I want to do something about it,” she said intensely.

“Don’t we all,” Shining Armor agreed. “It’s been almost twelve hours since the sun didn’t rise, and we know nothing more than we did before.”

“You’ve done all you can,” Penzance assured him. The two were both wearing their full armor; Penzance’s an older bronze color scheme with a green trim, and Shining Armor’s purple with gold trim. the sight was awe inspiring. “I never imagined this day would come.” He sighed.

They all stood in silence for what felt like hours. No pony spoke, and no pony moved. Arata could feel Penzance’s sadness, his bruised pride, his pain, and his helplessness. He felt that he was starting to understand the Stallion who had seemed so formal before.

A dull voice rang out in his mind. ‘Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana.’

“Sir, look!” One of the guards’ shouts broke the silence. Everypony turned to see what the commotion was about.

At first their eyes stung as they saw the first glimmer of light appear on the horizon. As they began to realize what was happening everypony burst out into cheers and applause. Slowly the sun rose into place, and the endless night had been broken.

“Praise the sun!” Penzance shouted, wrapping a leg around Shining Armors shoulder.

“Praise the sun,” Shining Armor gasped with a smile, almost unable to believe the ordeal was over.

Cheers began to cry out from every part of the city, and soon ponies filled the street in celebration. Penzance, Shining Armor, Arata, and Compass Rose retired to their quarters, each finally able to get some much needed rest.

…

Arata slept for most of the day before he was awakened by a knock at his door. The guard standing before him reported that Ivory Shield had returned with a full report of the situation, and that Penzance had arranged for him and the other two E.W.E.F ponies to be present for the debriefing.

He wasted no time getting to the courtyard outside where everypony had assembled. It appeared that most of the guard from Canterlot as well as a hoofful of civilians had come to hear the report.

“Presenting my report from Ponyville,” Ivory Shield began. “First and foremost Princess Celestia is safe.” There was applause from the audience. “As we had feared Nigthmare Moon had returned, and captured the Princess. A group of six ponies then ventured into the Everfree Forrest, recovered the Elements of Harmony, used them to restore Nightmare Moon back to Princess Luna, and save Celestia!” The crowd cheered again.

Arata couldn’t believe what he was hearing; six ponies had done all of that? Six ordinary ponies. ‘Maybe we could have done something, even without personas…” He thought to himself.

After a while the crowd disbanded and Penzance called the three ponies over to Shining Armor one final time.

“I hope everypony is rested and prepared to leave,” Penzance directed his comment at the pegasi. “There is no rush to return to Foalsdale so you will not need to pull the balloon this time.”

“Leaving so soon?” Shining Armor asked, “Don’t you want to see the Princess when she returns?”

“Knowing she is safe is enough for me,” Penzance smiled. “You did an exceptional job Shining Armor. I do not know anypony who could have handled that situation as well as you did. I’m sure the Princess will agree.” Penzance and Shining Armor exchanged salutes and parted ways….

Comments

[Spatan98]

[Spatan98]

Well done on chapppy ten, but I am very disappointed Arata and the others never got involved with the nightmare moon problem. That could have been a perfect set up for new arcana unlocks.