Persona: Innocent Wish

by Trismegistus

Chapter 22: The Tower

Almost a month had passed since Compass Rose had wandered into the lake, and the ponies of the E.W.E.F. were starting to feel on edge. Each member of the group dealt with the situation differently; Camphor now spent his time away from the E.W.E.F. either helping his family run the store, or adding to the considerably large stockpile of potions he made for use in the lake. Vox was constantly checking her sensor array to make sure she would know if anypony moved close to the lake. Blaze would spend hours at a time reviewing his notes on the lake, trying to predict exactly when the next pony would be called to it. Arata carried out his days as he normally had, although at night he often found himself staring at the radio resting next to him. Compass Rose was the most effected by their situation, she hadn’t eaten much over the past few days and, in addition, she spent most of her time talking to Vox or Arata, about the lake and what she could expect the next time she went in.

It was late afternoon and Arata was accompanying Vox on one of her treks to inspect the sensor array. It seemed that Compass Rose’s worry was starting to spread amongst the group. Arata would often feel guilty that all of this resulted from a wish he had made; talking to everypony was the least he could do to help.

Vox withdrew one of her sensor units from the ground; from what Arata could tell it was a radio with the antenna replaced with a large disk. The whole device glowed with a faint blue aura, which intensified as the pair got closer to it.

“Rose seems pretty on edge,” Vox said placing the device back into the ground.

“Yeah, I don’t really know what to say to her other than ‘it will all work out’” Arata sighed. “She wasn’t even there when Autumn Tail died, but she seems to be hit harder by it than any of us.”

“I can’t exactly blame her. In a way we all had the luxury of experiencing her death and then coming to terms with it. She didn’t. Now that it’s about time for somepony to go in again she has to worry about that pony dying, and it being her fault.” Vox paused and shook her head, “it’s awful that we’re as used to this as we are.”

“Somepony has to save the ponies that fall in. If we broke down like we did when Autumn Tail died, every time we had to go in, there’s a good chance Rose and Camphor wouldn’t be here today.” Arata said.

“You’re right, I guess being used to it isn’t that bad in the long run,” Vox gestured in the direction of the next sensor. “We should keep moving, it’s getting late.”

They began to walk again. The next sensor was close to the camp, and the walk to it didn’t follow any of the local trails.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what the lake shows us.” Vox said, ducking under a few branches, “I’m convinced what it showed me was my fear of not being in control, and it’s true, I do fear that, but I keep asking myself it it’s something that needs to change.”

“What do you mean?” Arata asked curiously.

“Maybe fear is what keeps us safe. Why do you think that kids are taught to be afraid of the wilds?” Vox posed the question and Arata was unsure if he was supposed to answer.

“Because ponies can get hurt if they venture too far in, but you know that most ponies who go into the wilds are fine. We spend most of our time in the woods and I haven’t even seen a timberwolf yet.” Arata felt that he finally had both the courage and understanding to articulate his points.

“But has being afraid of timberwolves ever hurt us? If anything it’s made me more alert in the swamps. Taking that one step further, I can’t think of any times being in control has really hurt me. What if giving up my fear and my control makes me weaker?” Vox said, looking back to face Arata.

After a brief pause, “It sounds to me like you’re still letting your fear get the best of you. You’re afraid to get over you fear because it may give you less control.”

“Well… I guess that’s right…” Vox shrugged.

“Does your fear of bugs help you?” Arata asked. “I’ve seen you staring at little spiders all day, and those aren’t even dangerous. I know you want to be in control of what’s on you, but does it really hurt you if one little bug crawls around on you?”

Vox shivered, “It keeps me alert, if I’m always looking out for bugs then I’ll notice anything else coming my way, and I suppose you’re right, it wouldn’t hurt that much.”

“Would you actually notice more though?” Arata pressed. “I think it’s more likely you’d miss something just because of how much attention you pay to scanning for little things in the distance.”

“Maybe..” Vox trailed off. “I can’t argue with what you’ve said, but I just want to make sure I’m making the right choice.”

“Giving up a little control is the first step to overcoming your fear.” Arata continued, “I know it’s not easy to get over fear. Ever since I came here I was afraid of what everypony would think about me, but you and Blaze became the first real friends I had. I know if I can get over my fear with your help, you can get over yours with mine.”

“Thank you,” Vox sighed, “It can be pretty hard to make yourself better, can’t it?”

“Yeah, but that’s what makes it worth it in the end,” Arata smiled.

“The next sensor is just ahead. Once I adjust that one, we can head back to camp,” Vox turned to Arata, “Also, there’s a spider on your armband.”

Arata turned his head and saw the small brown spider clinging to his band, and with a light breath he sent it falling to the ground. Although Vox was hesitant, she seemed to be getting closer to accepting her shortcomings, and Arata felt he almost understood the nature of the Empress Arcana.

Vox pulled out the final sensor and quickly changed its battery before setting it back down. She then went to the camp with Arata.

…

On his walk home, Arata noticed the town’s library lights were on much later than they usually were, and he decided to visit Lexicon.

He nudged the door open and stepped inside. Lexi was sitting in the corner with her face buried in a book. Arata hesitated slightly before announcing his presence.

“Hi Lexi,” He said in a voice just above a whisper.

Lexi leapt to her hooves with a shriek pushing the book aside and turning around. “Oh…. It’s just you.” She let out a long sigh of relief, and tried to compose herself. “What brings you by Arata-kun?”

“I saw the lights on, and thought I’d say ‘hi’. Sorry if I scared you,” Arata apologized, closing the door behind him.

“It’s okay, I get a little on edge around Nightmare Night, and the book I was reading didn’t help either,” She turned back to the book and carefully marked the page she finished on, before setting the book back down.

“Oh, what’s it about?” Arata asked.

“It’s a political thriller set during the founding of Equestria. I was at part where a unicorn noble was planning on assassinating his pegasus competitor. The book follows an earth pony who was swept up into the conspiracy, and he’s working with a small group of ponies to stop the assassination. When you walked in, I was reading a confrontation between the unicorn noble and the earth pony. It was a really tense scene.” She answered.

“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that absorbed in a book,” Arata added.

“What?! We need to fix that” Lexi walked over to Arata and dragged him to a shelf, “What genres do you enjoy the most? Last time you were here you wanted a book on the supernatural. Do you want more like that?”

“I’m not really sure…” Arata admitted.

“What do you like to experience when you read?” She asked trying her best to keep her questions basic.

“What do you mean?” Arata asked.

“Do you like a story that twists your emotions? One that gets you hooked so you can never put it down?”

“What do you like?” Arata asked.

“I love stories with deep and full characters. I’ve read books with characters that feel like they are alive, and by the end you feel like you watched them take a journey. You really get to know them as if they were your own friends.” She walked over to a shelf and pulled out a dusty old book. “Here, this is by far my favorite, and it’s my personal copy.” She smiled giving Arata the book. “Why don’t you read through it and tell me what you think.”

Arata slipped the book into his bag, and paused for a moment. “Hey, I was wondering…” he began with some hesitation. “Do you spend a lot of time with other ponies?”

“Not really,” she answered after some hesitation, “I help the ponies who come here looking for books, but other than that I normally just read and then I head upstairs to sleep.” She let out a sigh, “Being alone doesn’t bother me, I know a lot of ponies say that I’m too introverted but I don’t think they really understand it.” She hung her head and walked over to a different shelf, and pulled out a thick textbook. “This is by Foucolt. He is one of my favorite philosophers. And this book has my favorite quote. ‘...if you are not like everypony else, then you are abnormal, if you are abnormal, then you are sick. These three categories, not being like everypony else, not being normal and being sick are in fact very different but have been reduced to the same thing.’ That’s what I feel like sometimes. I’m different but everypony takes that to mean I’m sick.” She finished her explanation in a tone softer than she usually spoke with.

“I’m sorry,” Arata began, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s not your fault Arata-kun,” Lexi returned to her normal speaking voice, “You just hit a nerve. To be honest with you, you’re the first pony to actually bring the subject up with me.” She paused again, “But, going around town couldn’t hurt. Maybe you and I could go around sometime?” She asked.

“Sure!” Arata replied, “It will be fun.” He smiled.

“Thank you,” She added. “Make sure to read that book too so we can talk about it!” and with that she was back to her normal self.

Arata felt their bond grow a bit stronger.

After talking for a few minutes, Lexi excused herself and began to close the library for the night. Arata left the library and went home.

…

The next morning Arata decided to head by the flower shop and visit Summer Breeze. It had been around a month since they had last spoken and Arata wondered how she was doing. He entered the shop to find that most of the flowers had changed from the bright blues and reds of spring, to more muted tones.

“Hello Arata,” her familiar voice greeted him, “It’s been quite a while.”

“Sorry it took me so long to come back, I’ve been really busy.” He humbly apologized.

“It’s quite alright; I really appreciate all the help you’ve already given me.” Summer Breeze continued, “The last few months haven’t been easy, but I think I’m finally coming to terms with what happened. There are a lot of problems that I suddenly realized I had when I just took the time to think about myself.”

“I felt the same way after everything happened,” Arata added, hoping the shared experience would help her feel comfortable.

“I really want to make myself a better pony now. I think that’s the best way for me to honor and respect her memory.” Summer Breeze smiled with tears forming in her eyes. “You know, Nightmare Night was always her favorite holiday. It made me really happy to see all of the colts and fillies going around and having fun. I made sure that I gave out the best candy I could by to all of the kids who came by. Some of the children even told me how much they missed her. It made me so sad, but also so happy at the same time.”

“It’s great to hear that,” Arata smiled. “I need to get going or I’ll be late for work, but I’ll make sure I come by again soon!”

“Wait, before you go I’d like you to have this.” She reached under the counter and pulled out a small picture of Autumn Tail. “This is a picture of her from a few days before she passed. I don’t really know why, but I feel that you should have it.”

Arata felt a voice calling to him from the distance. ‘Thou art I… And I am thou… Thou hast established a genuine bond… These Genuine bonds… shall light the path that lies before you. We bestow upon thee the ability to create Mara, the ultimate form of the Tower Arcana…’

“Thank you. This means a lot to me,” Arata humbly accepted the picture and left for work. On the way there he stared in to the picture he was given, and he couldn’t shake the thought that he had been lying to her about what happened to Autumn Tail.

…

That weekend Arata was working at the pharmacy with Tonic, while Camphor was out gathering ingredients in the swamp. Compared to the past few times Arata had helped out, there was a surprisingly large crowd. Tonic had Arata working the cash register while he readied prescriptions and other medicines. Although it took some getting used to, Arata was able to handle the job. The brief experience in retail really made him appreciative of his current work with the E.W.E.F.

After the crowd died down, Tonic came out to talk with Arata.

“What did you think of retail?” he jokingly asked.

“It’s certainly a change of pace for me,” Arata said casually.

“I can imagine. Camphor’s been busier than ever now that he’s in the E.W.E.F. and he’s only been there for two months! I can’t imagine how much work you have to do.”

“It can get pretty stressful, to be honest. I think I’m finally getting used to the lifestyle,” although he was really referring to the lake specifically.

As they were talking, a teenage colt walked into the shop and started to look at some of the candy that was on display. Tonic continued talking, seeming to not notice the colt’s presence.

“It’s really nice to see how well you’ve adapted to life in Equestria. You seem to be having quite a good time here.” Tonic smiled.

“Yeah, I’ve made more friends than I thought I would,” Arata finished just as the colt was about to walk out of the shop.

Tonic’s shout caught Arata off guard, “Are you going to pay for that?”

Without any hesitation the colt bolted out the door and ran down the street. Before Arata had a chance to comment, Tonic had leapt over the counter and was galloping after him. Arata followed suit trying to keep up.

Once they were outside, Tonic spotted the fleeing colt and galloped at a speed faster than Arata thought possible. The colt risked a glance backward and his eyes widened as he saw just how close Tonic had gotten. Once Tonic was within a few feet of the colt, he leapt forward catching the pony and pulling him to the ground.

“Rhapsody?!” Tonic shouted finally getting a look at the colt’s face, “You know if you wanted a candy bar that badly I could have just given it to you. Why would you steal?!” Tonic was becoming angrier with every sentence.

“I…” the colt’s eyes widened and he stuttered trying to get a basic sentence out, “I… I’m… sorry”

“Why did you do it?” Tonic demanded.

“I… it was a bet!” the colt shouted as Arata finally caught up. “My friends dared me to do it, and I didn’t want them to make fun of me.”

“You’re lucky that I don’t hand you over to the police! Come on I know you know better than this,” Tonic continued to shout at the colt refusing to let him back on his feet.

“You’re right, I’m sorry! It won’t happen again I promise!” He said still in a panic.

“Your parents are going to hear about this, and I doubt they’ll be happy.” Tonic stood up allowing the colt to do the same. “Now get out of here, before I change my mind about the police.”

The colt ran off and Tonic turned to Arata. “I’m sorry you had to see that Arata.”

“I didn’t expect you to react that strongly,” Arata admitted trying to hide his surprise.

“He was a criminal, and he needed to know that.” Tonic said firmly.

“But he was just a kid, and it was only a piece of candy.” Arata continued.

“Exactly, it was just a worthless piece of candy. If you can’t control yourself from stealing something so small, what’s stopping you from committing a worse crime?” Tonic pressed, and Arata could feel the anger behind his words. “He needs to learn his lesson before he gets too old, and it was better that I scared him straight than the police catching him.”

“But what about his friends who pressured him to do it?” Arata asked.

“They’re not him. He was the one who cracked. He made the mistake, and he needs to understand that. If his friends were watching I’m sure they were equally scared.” Tonic finished.

Arata was silent for a moment before Tonic continued, “Why don’t you go home? I need to go talk to his parents about this.”

Although the experience hadn’t been pleasant, Arata felt his bond with Tonic growing stronger, and he was starting to understand just why he was the Justice Arcana.

Comments

[New Dawn]

Mara, the ultimate form of the Tower Arcana

PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, DON'T MAKE HIM FUSE MARA!!!!