Persona: Innocent Wish

by Trismegistus

Chapter 28: Revelations, Persona

“You have finally tapped into your true potential. The power of Persona had been bestowed to you, by the entity dwelling in the lake, but now, you have shattered her hold over your powers, and made it your own.” Igor extended his hand out to Caroline; she quickly flipped the compendium open and placed it in Igor’s outstretched hand.

“Pendragon was called forth by your will and your will alone. It can never be taken away from you. However, because Taliesin was granted to you by the magic of another, it will now leave your heart as you defy that magic’s will.” The Velvet Room began to fade away. The smell of smoke wafted into Arata’s nose. His eyelids twitched softly before opening fully.

The clearing was bathed in the harsh orange light from the burning trees. A thin dusting of ash rained down from the sky. Arata pulled himself into a sitting position and scanned the clearing to see how his friends where holding up. Ivory Shield was the first to catch his eye, she was slowly trying to stand up clearly in pain from the burns. The next were Camphor and Compass Rose, and the pony Vox had kidnapped. They were still unconscious, although they seemed to be breathing. Finally he turned to find Blaze collapsed by the edge of the lake, holding Vox. Arata hadn’t been conscious to see how Vox had been stopped, but if Blaze was holding her, the situation was most likely under control.

Fighting the throbbing in his muscles and head, Arata forced himself to his hooves and took in the fire burning behind him. He let out a shallow breath, and then whispered for Pendragon. The Persona emerged from Arata and flew into the air. Circling the clearing, it let out blasts of wind extinguishing the fires that burned around the lake, before dissolving away.

Ivory Shield, now on her legs, limped up to Compass Rose, Camphor, and the unidentified pony.

“Arata,” She called, her voice barley a whisper, “Come over here.”

Gathering up his strength Arata made his way across the field.

“Rose and Camphor are hurt, but they don’t seem worse off than I am.” Ivory Shield gestured to the unconscious mare, “She isn’t doing well at all. We need to get back to Foalsdale as quickly as possible.” Ivory Shield coughed and then continued, “Do you recognize her?”

Arata looked down at her, “Yes. That’s Lexi, the librarian from Foalsdale…”

“Let’s go check on Blaze and Vo-” Ivory Shield’s Voice was quickly cut off, by the faint sound of laughter.

A burst of wind flooded the clearing, pouring through the tree-line. It kicked up all of the dust and ash that had settled on the ground and on the trees. The currents of air met above the lake, and formed a vortex that fed into it.

Blaze felt the wind and the forming vortex. Raising his head, he caught a glimpse of a face forming in the dust. The laughing grew stronger and stronger, as the vortex slowly began to take shape. First a horn emerged, then the face Blaze had spotted came into full form, finally its body and wings took shape. The Vortex dissipated, but the laughing figure continued to shift, not having a defined form. A sudden spire of light shot out from the lake, engulfing the figure, and then quickly dissipating. The Alicorn, left in the light’s wake, had a fixed outline; however, its skin shifted and pulsed, as if made of a living mist.

The laugh continued.

Arata stared into the face, quickly realizing just what the figure was. Without hesitation he mustered what little breath he could and let out a warning shout to his companions, “Blaze, Vox get back!” The words weren’t as loud as he had hoped, and it wasn’t clear if either of them had heard him.

“I have dreamed of this day for thousands of years,” A deep, yet oddly feminine voice cackled. “Do you know how mad one can go, contemplating and sating the whims of others for that long?” The figures head twitched from side to side observing everypony in the clearing, as if waiting for a response. “Oh, come now, Ara- no, Blaze, I’m sure with your ‘infinite wisdom’ you must understand how I have felt. Or have you not yet figured out who I am? No, you must have, surly.”

Blaze stared into the Alicorn, not dignifying it with a response. Arata stepped forward trying to call out to his persona, but he was abruptly stopped by a hoof from Ivory Shield.

“We’re in no position to fight Arata,” She whispered, “Vox nearly killed all of us, there’s no chance we’d be able to take her.”

“I can’t just sit here doing nothing,” Arata whispered back.

“If it comes to a fight, then we fight, but let’s not push this, look at the state this mare’s in. She won’t last long without help, if not for yourself, do it for her.” Ivory was curt, but she made a convincing point. Arata remained tense, but resisted the urge to fight.

“Your silence hurts you more than me,” She cackled again, “After all it was your final sacrifice that gave me the strength to take on a physical form once more!” A thick swath of mist rose from the lake and approached Blaze. “You’re a monster you know… at least amongst those of Equestria. Blaze, you, much like myself, are now a killer.” She broke out into a seemingly uncontrolled fit of laughter before abruptly snapping back to attention. “How rude of me, I never introduced myself. My name is Morgana, more specifically, Morgana the Cruel. Tell me Mr. Historian, do you know who I am? No? Well I suppose I do owe you an explanation for all the trouble you five went through to get me this body. Longer than anypony should be forced to recount I have been trapped in this lake. I used to rule over southern Equestria, before a Unicorn…” She trailed off for a moment, “Oh, what was his name…” She trailed off again, “Twinkle Spiral? No, no, no… Sun Twist…. Ah, Star Swirl, yes that was the one.” Her voice instantly became enraged with the mention of the name. “He is the one who killed my son Mordred, and cursed me to an eternity of pitiful existence in that lake.” Her voice snapped back to its normal tone. “But you fixed that, and all it took was the energy each of you fed me, along with the two sacrifices. I have to admit it would have taken me much longer to get a body had Vox and Autumn Tail not given their souls to me-”

She paused and looked toward Arata, “And now for you Arata, did you like your wish? Have I given you everything you asked for? You have certainly done so for me.”

Arata opened his mouth about to offer an answer but abruptly cut himself off. He couldn’t help but ask if all of this had been his fault. Was this monster that now floated before him was his creation, and worst of all, had his wish just doomed everypony he knew?

“Hmmm? No answer then? Fine, you all became so stoic so quickly. Is it because your friend is dead? I know that’s why Blaze looks so, so broken.”

Ivory Shield and Arata quickly looked back to Blaze. The situation was all starting to come together now.

“Blaze…” Arata called out to him, “What did you do?”

Blaze never got the chance to answer, Morgana decided to do it in his place. “He did what I could have only wished for, he killed Vox! Oh if only you had all been conscious to see it! I couldn’t ask for a more fitting sacrifice-“ She cut herself off once again. “That reminds me, I can’t allow you to keep her body. It has been blessed with far too much of my own power.” The mist surrounding the lake shot out grabbing Vox’s body and quickly dragging it back in.

“Give her back,” Blaze demanded, slowly levitating the pistol against his head.

“What was that? You want her back?” Morgana laughed, “Maybe you should have thought about that before you ‘stopped’ her. And please, put that thing down. You’ve helped me to gain a body, and to show my gratitude I was going to let you all live.” A thin tendril lashed out and swatted the postil to the ground. “Now, I think I’ve spent enough time talking. I have a kingdom to reclaim. I’m sure each of you will attend my coronation.” With those words she attempted to fly, although something held her back. “It would appear that while I have a body, there is still something tethering me to the lake. If that is the case…”

The fog around the lake vanished, and six sets of hands shot out and grabbed onto the shore. A group of shadows pulled themselves out and sat idly waiting for instruction.

“As I said, I don’t wish to harm you. But I suggest you all leave quickly, before the shadows get too hungry.” She lowered herself down to the surface of the lake. Her body then merged with the water and disappeared, leaving only the shadows behind.

Through all of the activity over the past few minutes Arata hadn’t noticed that Compass Rose and Camphor had stood up; their breathing was pained, but it seemed they would be able to walk.

“We need to go. Now!” Ivory Shield shouted, signaling for Arata to help her carry Lexi.

“Blaze,” Arata shouted, “Come on!” The shadows began to grow more restless taking notice of each pony around them.

“Camphor, Rose, get out of here.” Ivory Shield ordered. Although they looked hesitant, they complied and headed back toward camp.

Blaze just sat by the shore, staring into the lake, unmoving.

“Blaze!” Arata shouted again.

“Arata, we don’t have time for this. We need to get this pony back to camp now.” Ivory Shield said starting to lift Lexi.

Arata spared another glance at Blaze, before turning back to Ivory. Between the two of them, they were able to support Lexi’s weight, even considering their weekend state.

The two set off down the trail, leaving Blaze alone with the shadows.

He raised the gun to his forehead. The last time he had fired it, he felt as if his life was about to end, but now he didn’t feel any of that. He couldn’t be fazed by the reminder of death that floated before him.

Comments

[Trismegistus]

5649546 but Arata's really going to need Mara's help to "penetrate the darkness" As Mara says inP3.