Persona: Harmony

by sorakun555

Chapter 2

*Wednesday, 8/16*

*Morning*

Twilight woke up with a jolt. She gasped, exhaustion evident on her sweating brow, forcing large breaths into her lungs. She somehow felt drained, like she had spent all of her energy. How? She had only just woken up. She looked around the room, the bright morning sunlight filling it with the promise of a new day. Through heavy eyes, Twilight smiled up at the light her mentor was bringing. It was as if Princess Celestia was wishing Twilight good luck through the sun. She felt grateful of her teacher. Then, the sudden image of a black void for a sky grabbed hold of Twilight’s vision.

Nervous, she hopped out of bed and walked to the window. She wasn’t expecting to see the sun shine so brightly and the ground covered in young foals going to school and adult ponies on their way to their daily lives. She stood by the window, puzzled. The last time she looked out her window it was the dead of night. The large moon was shining amongst the stars from below and casting an evil shadow on everything. That was in that dream. . . .

As if realizing this was the cure for her condition, her breathing grew easy and she didn’t feel so drained. She took one final deep breath, memories of the previous night suddenly returning. The strange setting, Spike, those monsters, that brave pony with the sword, everything came surging back in her mind. She shook her head and let out a grunt in frustration. None of it made sense!

Another memory surfaced. In the dream, her leg had been injured! Twilight test her hind leg, putting more and more weight on it until she was almost balancing on it. Not a single wave of pain. Not even a sting.

Satisfied, Twilight made her way to the kitchen and fixed herself some breakfast. She pulled out one of the delicious red apples she bought from the salespony the day before. She took a bite out of the fruit. She chewed, but once, before the juice reached her taste buds. The sudden shock of flavor surprised her. It took everything she could not to gulp down the rest of it in one bite! This apple was the best apple she’d ever eaten! How could that pony’s farm be in any danger with something like this growing locally?

“Maybe I should pay them a visit.”

*Afternoon*

Twilight found her way back to the dirt path Applejack showed her yesterday, the one leading to Sweet Apple Acres. The dirt was darker here than the dirt in the village. From the little she knew about gardening, it was probably because of the care taken to the soil so the plants could grow. The difference was already obvious with the lush grass that seemed to act as the border between city and country.

She followed the path over the hill, the farm rising into view as she reached the peak. The trees stretched farther than Twilight could see, wrapping around the large, red barn house at the very front and going past the hills beyond. Each tree was dotted with the same delicious fruit Twilight had just sampled that morning, the thought making Twilight’s mouth water. She continued trotting down the hill and to the barn house door, ready to knock when she was suddenly tackled by a yellow blur. It had come from the door, shocking Twilight and causing her to stumble to the ground.

When she regained her senses, she stared into the face of a young filly, yellow coat with a bow binding her strawberry-red mane. She was lying on Twilight’s stomach in a daze, hooves sprawled out around her body. When the filly’s own senses returned, she gasped and bashfully leapt off of Twilight.

“Sorry, Miss.” She pawed at the ground a little and then zoomed off without even looking at Twilight again. A little startled by the encounter, Twilight proceeded to the open front door of the barn and knocked. Applejack came running at the noise and smiled when she saw who it was.

“Hey, it’s you! Twilight, right? What can Ah do ya for?”

“Well, I want to help out on the farm.” Twilight smiled and stood with confidence, as if she were at a job interview trying to impress her future boss. Applejack eyed Twilight for a moment, a look of disbelief on her face.

“Really?”

“Uh-huh!” Twilight’s voice wasn’t missing a beat.

“Ah’m sorry, ah don’t mean ta be rude, but you don’t look much like a workhorse. Have you even applebucked before?”

“Well, no. I admit I haven’t, but I want to try anyway!”

Applejack thought it over a moment, and then shrugged. “Ah guess it couldn’t hurt. Ah never turn down a hard worker. Follow me.”

Applejack led the way out of the barn and into another building next to it: the shed. It stood smaller than the barn house, but it seemed to act as a side attachment. Here, Applejack picked up a few empty baskets and put them into a wagon. She strapped herself into the harness and pulled the wagon into the patch of trees until they reached a few with very ripe, unpicked apples. Applejack released herself from the harness’s grip and placed the baskets around the tree’s base. She turned to Twilight.

“Here, try buckin’ down the apples by kickin’ the base o’ this tree as hard as ya can. You’ll shake the tree hard enough that the apples’ll just fall right outta the tree and into the baskets.”

Applejack moved out of the way so Twilight could get into position. Twilight faced away from the tree, put all of her weight onto her front hooves, raising her hind legs into the air, and shot them straight into the tree’s trunk. The impact caused the tree to rattle and a few apples fell out into the baskets. Applejack whistled and tipped her hat.

“Not too shabby, but yer pose is wrong. Here, do as Ah do.” Applejack got into position herself next to another tree, bringing one of the baskets with her. “First, spread yer front hooves out, like this, about shoulder-length apart. If I were ta push ya, ya shouldn’t fall over. Then, you want ta hit the dead center o’ the tree with everythin’ ya got! If ya hit the tree jus’ right, every ripe apple should just fall into the basket--” Applejack performed a marvelous applebuck onto her tree, kicking it just above her lowered head. Like she said, every apple on the tree, all of the most delicious-looking apples Twilight had ever seen, fell into the basket, never once missing and hitting the ground, “--like so.”

Twilight had been taking mental notes the whole time, noting how to stand, where and how to kick, and what the final product should be. Going over everything in her head, she took position, fore hooves spread out at shoulder-length, and kicked the tree with all of her strength. She ended up making contact with the lower base of the tree, almost directly behind her chin. The tree hardly budged and instead Twilight felt the impact bounce back at her legs and she fell to the ground, her hind legs aching and shaking. She heard Applejack chuckle quietly to herself but didn’t give up, not after her confident presence earlier. Twilight got up, ignoring her protesting legs, and gave another swing. This time, she completely missed the tree and landed flat on her belly. She felt the wind get knocked out of her, keeping her down until she could breath agin.

“Maybe applebuckin’ just aint right fer ya. There are other jobs you could do.”

“Can’t I just use my magic and levitate the apples into the baskets?”

Applejack seemed to be hit with those words as she heard them. “No! Ah mean, it’s kinda one o’ our policies that any unicorn volunteers don’t use magic ta pick the apples. It’d feel a little like cheatin’ if we let them pick half the orchard all by themselves.”

Twilight grumbled a little bit in frustration, but respected Applejacks’ wishes.

“Here, let me show ya another job that Ah think you’d do OK in,” Applejack pointed to the full basket of apples she had bucked just a few seconds ago, “You can put these baskets into the wagon and pull ‘em into the back door o’ the barn. And when ya get there, tell Big Macintosh that he needs ta hightail it over here so he can help me buck apples fer you ta pull in.”

“Got it!” Twilight strapped herself to the harness of the wagon full of baskets of apples and was about to pull when she got an idea. She grabbed hold of the baskets with her magic and levitated them around her, lifting the weight of the wagon to a manageable amount that she could handle. Applejack eyed Twilight accusingly.

“What’re ya doin’?”

“I’m not picking the apples with magic. And besides, it’s easier for me to carry them back and forth with my magic rather than pulling this heavy wagon.” She held a mischievous smile as she said this.

“Heh heh, all right, all right. Ah s’ppose Ah can let that slide as long as they get ta the barn safe. Sneaky little Miss Magic.” Applejack giggled and continued her work.

Twilight walked back the way they came and found herself at the front of the barn again in a matter of minutes. After putting the wagon away, she walked around the border of the large red building until she found an extension in the back with large wooden doors open a crack.

Inside was a large room, much larger than the shed, mostly taken up by boxes and barrels that were probably ready to be sold on the market. On the other side was a couple of ponies, an old green mare with her white mane in a bun and a large red stallion with his casual, messy, orange mane. The stallion was hunched over a desk lit by a hanging bulb just powerful enough for the area around him, fussing over some paperwork and the mare was digging her hooves into a pile of apples, tossing bruised or otherwise ruined apples into a separate bucket, her own source of light being the bulb above the stallion. They turned around when they noticed Twilight nervously walk in.

“And who is this young’n?” The old mare asked in a creaky voice.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle. I just started working here. Applejack told me to bring these baskets here and to tell Big Macintosh to help her out with bucking apples.”

“Ah guess that means Ah should go, Granny.” The stallion said in a deep voice.

“Don’t worry ‘bout me none sonny. Ah can handle these apples by mahself. You go help yer sister.”

Big Macintosh got up and walked out of the barn as Twilight set down her own baskets next to the old mare’s pile. The mare immediately went to work as she talked to Twilight.

“Oh, where’re mah manners? Mah name’s Granny Smith. Ah’m glad Applejack has found more help fer this old farm. It sure needs it.”

“Applejack told me that you were having problems making sales and that you might have problems during winter.”

“Ha! That’s an understatement. This farm’s well on its way ta bankruptcy.”

“What?” Twilight nearly jumped in surprise.

“Ah’m sorry ta say it, but it’s true. We’ve got a lot o’ new shops in town recently and it’s hurtin’ business. It doesn’t help none that everypony here knows what our apples taste like since most of the adults’ parents have lived here since Ah have. We sell the finest apple products this side o’ Equestria, but everypony has a limit when it comes ta eatin’ the same food over an’ over again,” Granny Smith’s greeting smile slowly turned sour until with was a complete frown, “Unless we come up with somethin’ new ta sell this farm’s on its way to disappearin’.”

“T-that. . . terrible!”

“Sad, but true,” Twilight was surprised by the smile that reappeared on her face, “But, no matter how far down the hole we go, even if our farm, our home, does get taken away from us, we’ll still be family.”

There was a long pause as Twilight took in everything that she was told. She could feel her emotions reach her eyes, but the thought of crying now seemed wrong to her. Resolve washed over her like water from a shower as she seemed to grow taller.

Granny Smith looked at Twilight with her old, sweet eyes, “Thank you fer listening to an old mare. Why don’t ya follow Big Mac ta the shed and go on helpin’ the farm?”

“Right. Bye!” Twilight galloped off to the shed after Big Macintosh. She hadn’t seen him on the way there, so she figured he had taken some baskets himself. She grabbed a few of her own and continued her work, fully determined to do what she could to help the farm.

About an hour later, at the front of the barn, Twilight noticed a pony come running down the hill. He seemed to be in a hurry and didn’t even take notice of Twilight. That is, until he tripped, tumbled and rolled along the ground, and crashed into her. The impact caused Twilight’s magical grip on the baskets she was carrying to vanish and drop them on her head. She laid there for a few seconds, dazed, for now the second- or was it third?- time this day, before she pushed the pony off of her, who quickly got to his hooves.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to crash into you like that!” He bowed his tan head in apology, his brown mane bobbing along with it.

“No, it’s fine. No harm done,” Twilight tried to brush off the damage like the dirt that was now on her coat, “Where are you off to in such a rush?”

“I work here, but I’m really late. Where’s Applejack?” He was running in place, sweat visible on his forehead from running all the way from town. He quickly looked around, probably searching for Applejack.

“She’s already in the field bucking apples.”

“Oh no! I was hoping they had started work late. . . . Maybe I can just sneak in and they won’t notice I’m late. . . .”

“Caramel!”

Twilight and the stallion turned to see Applejack emerge from the sea of trees, her face peeved.

“What did Ah tell ya ‘bout showin’ up late? We gotta lotta work ta do and we need every set o’ hooves we can get! Twilight, get him some baskets!”

“Right!” Twilight levitated a few over to Caramel and placed them on his back. “Be sure not to trip again!” Twilight joked with a smile. Caramel’s cheeks flushed a little before he took off into a different section of the acres.

“Ya think you can keep gallopin’ all over the farm like this?” Applejack directed her question at Twilight, “Ya now have three ponies ta supply baskets for an’ we can’t waste time waitin’.”

“I’ll tr--” Twilight’s throat suddenly felt dry and she let out a couple coughs, objecting to her answer. Applejack shook her head and walked towards the shed.

“Ah shoulda just given ya this earlier.” She came back out with a couple water bags fashioned into a saddle and a straw sticking out from each bag long enough to reach the mouth of any pony. She fit them onto Twilight, wished her luck, and sped off into the layers of apple trees once again. Twilight took a sip of the water and loved how clean it was; like nectar for her throat. She magically grabbed the baskets on the ground, a few more from the shed, and ran back into the orchard in search of full baskets.

Twilight headed off towards the east section of the acres, where she knew Big Macintosh was. She caught him in the middle of bucking a tree, not a strain on his face, hay, hardly a change in emotion, on him. All it took was a simple kick and every apple fell off of the tree, even a couple which looked a little pink. He cursed under his breath when he saw them, then changed back to indifference when he saw Twilight.

“Wow, you’re really strong.” Twilight couldn’t help but stare a little.

“I-it’s nothin’ much.” He stumbled a little over his words, “Actually, it works against me sometimes, like when Ah mistakenly buck off the unripe apples. Can’t exactly put ‘em back on the tree. . . .” His eyes looked off into the distance as he trailed off. He seemed to be thinking of something, although exactly what Twilight couldn’t really guess. Big Macintosh shook his thoughts from his head and got back to work. She stood there for a second, the silence only interrupted by the next tree to get bucked by his powerful strikes.

“Well, here you go Mr. Macintosh.” Twilight put some of her load of baskets next to Big Macintosh, trying to act nonchalant to try to escape the sudden silence.

“Jus’ call me Big Mac.” He bucked another tree, managing to get only the ripe apples this time. Another long silence fell between them; Twilight rocked on her hooves, trying to find some way to recover from the sudden quiet once again.

“R-right,” Twilight gave up in trying to salvage any sort of conversation they might have had, “Anyway, see you later.” Twilight galloped off, baskets both empty and filled with apples following behind her, trying to get away as fast as possible from the land of silence.

After giving Applejack more baskets and collecting the filled ones, Twilight was on her way to the west fields where Caramel was. She heard a grunt, then some loud noise, and then painful moans. When she found the source, Caramel was lying on the ground, head right at the base of the tree. She helped him up and waited a moment for his eyes to focus.

“Are you OK?” Twilight asked with honest concern.

“Uuugghhhh. . . . Yeah, I. . .” Caramel shook his head vigorously, which managed to cure his dizzied state, “I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, no big deal, just tried bucking a tree, but somehow spun around and smacked my head against the tree. Don’t know how I managed to do it, but that’s what happened.” He put a hoof up to his skull and rubbed it, possibly tending to a sudden headache.

“Do you need anything? I have water.”

“No, it’s alright. Believe me, there are worse things that could happen. This is nothing. There are some filled baskets over there.” Caramel pointed to a few trees surrounded by filled baskets. Twilight collected those too, and suddenly felt strained. Sweat became visible to Caramel, so he flipped the conversation around.

“Whoa, you feeling OK?”

If Twilight wasn’t lifting such a heavy load, she would have laughed a little at that, “Yeah, the load’s just a little heavy this time around. I should get back to the barn quick before I lose my grip on these.”

“If you say so. Don’t strain yourself!” Caramel gave a big smile as Twilight galloped off once again to the back of the barn to meet Granny Smith and dump her load of apple-filled baskets.

*Evening*

Twilight collapsed in front of the barn, gasping for air and desperately trying to sip the last drops of water left in her bags. Applejack came by behind her, lifted her back onto her hooves, and helped her inside. She took the water bags off of Twilight and sat her down at a long table with several empty chairs starting from Twilight’s left to the end. The room was very comfortable, soft, dark brown walls with several pictures hanging, showing Applejack, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, the filly from earlier, and some other ponies. One was a group photo with the four residents, Caramel, and some ponies who had obviously been working the whole day up until the photo was taken. There was a brick fireplace placed next to a set of swinging doors that led to the kitchen, a set of stairs opposite of Twilight that split off in two directions, and a window that showed the apple orchard’s night beauty.

Applejack sat across from Twilight and Granny Smith took the head. The front door opened and shut in time for Big Mac to come out of the kitchen and see the yellow filly sitting to Twilight’s right. Applejack eyed the filly, who put on an innocent smile, a halo appearing above her head. Applejack scolded her about being late to dinner while Big Mac carried a tray of food to the table: some bowls of salad with apple slices and, enough cups of apple juice for everypony, and one big apple pie for dessert. He set the food down and placed himself between his sister and his granny.

Everypony dug into their food greedily, most of the sounds coming from the little filly, who introduced herself as Applebloom. Applejack scolded her younger sister, again, for forgetting her table manners. Big Mac and Granny Smith seemed to be in a discussion about the farm, though Twilight couldn’t really follow it. The different personalities around the table clashed so well that Twilight couldn’t help but smile. She had flashbacks of when she still lived with her parents as a foal, but was never able to talk about anything interesting to her parents. They faked interest really well, so it was enough to satisfy the young Twilight.

She also remembered the dinners she would spend with Princess Celestia. Her mentor was always accompanied by the same three guards: Diamond Shield- a white Earth pony-, Breeze- a white pegasus-, and Black Magic- a black unicorn. Twilight had gotten to know them very well and had formed their own sort of family. They always talked warmly to Twilight, only scolding her when she really deserved it. They were always on active duty, being the princess’s personal guards, but occasionally they got the chance to slip away and play with her, sometimes teach her a little about Equestrian history they had to learn when becoming guards.

The smile slowly faded from Twilight. She suddenly felt a pit in her stomach, but the food wasn’t the cause. Applejack bellowed at her younger sister, and Big Mac and Granny Smith ignored the yelling by talking to each other in the only way a real family would. All of this noise, conversations good and bad between siblings and elders, Twilight couldn’t help but smile. She looked between the Apple Family in longing, though they never noticed. They were too engrossed in their conversations to notice.

Suddenly, a thought popped out of nowhere in Twilight’s mind. Looking around, she noticed a certain pony missing.

“Hey, where’s that other pony?”

“Ya mean Caramel?” Applejack looked up from her food at her new friend, “He insists at eatin’ at his own place. We try ta feed him fer helpin’ us out be he simply refuses and gallops off before we can.” Applejack paused a moment before speaking again, “Why, ya worried ‘bout ‘im?”

“Wha- no! I was just wondering since I’m here eating and he isn’t, yet we both helped out.”

“Well, as nice as he is and as hard as he works, he doesn’t really help out all that much.”

“Sis!” Big Macintosh had finished talking with Granny Smith in time to hear his sister’s comment.

“Ah know, Ah know. Ah don’t mean ta be so hard on him. He really tries, sometimes too hard. He jus’ messes up a lot. Not his fault. Well, mostly not his fault. He’s just accident prone. He’ll knock over whole wagons just by takin’ a step forward. Once, he even put a hole in the barn jus’ by turnin’ his head.”

Twilight crossed her brow in confusion, “Wha. . . how. . . .”

“That’s just the kind o’ thing that happens ta him. Like Ah said, he really does try hard. Once, he even out did me in apples bucked fer the day. But for every good thing he accomplishes at least ten accidents make up for it.”

“Well then, and I don’t mean any offense to him when I say this, if he’s so accident prone that he can hardly get a job done why don’t you just fire him?”

“’Cause he’s family. Well, not really family. He ain’t blood, but we’ve been together ever since we were foals. Me, him, and Big Macintosh were always together. He would always show up here and try ta help out by doin’ chores or occasionally even got away wit’ helpin’ out in the fields. We’ve been good friends and he’s never done any o’ us wrong. That’s why we let him help.”

“That’s. . . actually a really nice story.”

“Yeah? Well, don’t be getting’ any ideas about hittin’ on ‘im.”

Twilight, who had been taking a drink of apple juice when she heard this, spat all over the table in front of her, managing to spray Applejack a little. She coughed a little at some juice that instead escaped down her throat. Applebloom decided to help by smacking Twilight on the back a few times before Applejack glared at her. When Twilight finally regained her composure, she asked in a wheezy voice, “What?”

“Since he’s family, Ah’ll protect him like he is.” Applejack grabbed a napkin and wiped the juice from her face, “You do anythin’ ta him and you’ll answer ta me.”

“I wasn’t even thinking about doing anything like that!” Twilight’s face got suddenly red from the thought. She could hear Granny Smith chuckle quietly, trying to conceal her amusement. If Big Macintosh was reacting at all he was doing so quietly.

“Good, . . . ‘cause I was jus’ jokin’!” Applejack’s face betrayed her words as she finished her sentence with a death glare. Big Macintosh finally made an audible laugh, Granny Smith had finished her own giggling to eat her meal, and Apple Bloom stared between them trying to figure out what they were talking about. For the rest of dinner, Twilight couldn’t help but get the feeling of being watched.

After dinner, Twilight found Applejack upstairs in her room. The room was small, just big enough to be considered personal quarters rather than a closet. There was a bed at the far end and a hat rack by the door. A nightstand stood next to the bed with a picture of Applejack’s family as the only thing decorating it. Applejack, taking her hat off and hanging it on the rack, was just preparing to turn in.

“Listen, Applejack. I know that I can’t help all that much around the farm, but-“

“What’re ya talkin’ about? Ya did amazin’ out there! You don’t run that fast, but you were able to keep up wit’ the rest o’ us jus’ fine!”

“Oh, well thank you. Anyway, I realize that even though we collect the apples quickly it won’t help sales. We need to come up with something new to-“

“Don’ worry ‘bout the sales none.” Applejack waved a hoof dismissively, “We’ll be jus’ fine.”

“But, yesterday you said-“

“Ah know what Ah said, but now that I think about it, there was no need ta worry! Sure, our profit hasn’t been the best, but we still got money!”

“Granny Smith told me that the farm was on the way to bankruptcy!”

Applejack looked at Twilight for a moment. She wasn’t sure what the work horse was thinking, though whatever it was soon disappeared to make way for a yawn, “Twilight, Ah love mah granny, but she worries too much. Jus’ ‘cause we’re turnin’ up slightly lower profits she thinks we’re gonna be outta business. See these apples on mah flank?” Applejack waved a hoof over her cutie mark made up of three red apples, “This represents my talent and dedication ta this very farm that mah Granny’s Pa started when she was mah age. I was born an’ raised ta run this farm an’ ain’t no way it’s gonna get taken away that easily. There’s no need ta worry ‘bout the farm.”

Twilight was about to object again, but closed her mouth. She would just have to trust Applejack’s words. She gave a “good bye” to the farm pony and her family and walked over the hill to her library home.

---

Twilight’s brain set off another alarm to alert her of her surroundings again. She was in the Velvet Room with Igor and Derpy across from her, just like last time. Igor smiled the same creepy smile with his beady eyes and greeted her.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room. I see you have made your contract.”

Twilight paused for a moment before answering. “What do you mean?”

“You braved through your fears and fought back with an unparalleled force, full of confidence. Any uncertainty you felt before is now gone. By doing this, you have stepped onto the path of destiny, ready to face any hardships this choice forces upon you.”

“Fought back? You mean in that dream? So it wasn’t a dream after all?” Twilight’s voice rose with each question thrown at the stallion before her.

Igor chuckled, which only made Twilight frustrated.

“You don’t have to laugh at me! Why don’t you just answer my question?”

“I’m afraid my only job is to guide our guests and assist in our own special way. The paths our guests choose are their own; we simply do them a few favors. We cannot interfere any further than that.”

“Of course you can’t.” Twilight slumped in her chair with annoyance painted on her face.

“But be warned, everything you see in your dreams is an omen to something much greater. When the time comes, it could very well mean a change to your very life.”

“So what do you do?” Twilight couldn’t help but ask with a little bit of doubt.

“In due time. First, some more details. Every pony has a darker side to them, something that they wish others not to see. This is all part of their ego, which is where a ‘persona’ comes from.”

“Persona?” Twilight felt a bell ring in her head.

“Yes. A Persona is another side of you given form. However, as with every rule there are exceptions. You have the power to hold many egos. You are like the number zero: empty, but filled with endless possibilities. Because of this ability, you are able to wield different personas. Not very many other ponies have this ability. How you use this power is entirely up to you. Our job is to help you fuse these personas into stronger ones.”

“Fusion?”

“You’ll come to understand in time. It seems our time has been cut short. Whenever you need to see us, simply think about us before you fall asleep. You’ll soon find yourself here and we will humbly do as you wish and will not interfere. We may also contact you while you are dreaming, so do not be alarmed if that happens to you.”

Twilight couldn’t even get another word in before her vision grew white, and felt herself leave the Velvet Room.

---

Twilight woke up in her bed, somehow wide awake, staring at the dark ceiling above her. It was unusually dark, giving a familiar feeling to it. She turned to see the pitch-black sky outside her window, and then turned the other way to see Spike next to her. She was about to gasp, but the bright colors of the creature next to her gave her a sudden sense of safety. She sat up to face him properly.

“You’re back. . . .” Spike didn’t look sad, but at the same time didn’t seem all that happy.

“Yeah, . . . I guess I am. I guess this wasn’t a dream after all,” Twilight looked down glumly at the covers of her bed. She knew that the dangers of this world weren’t going to leave her anytime soon. Figuring that, she turned to Spike and decided to get right to the point, “Since I’m going to be coming back here every night, you may as well answer my questions.”

“I. . .” Spike seemed to hesitate a little. His attitude from last time seemed to have been replaced with a timid side, “I guess that’s only fair.” He climbed on the bed and sat next to Twilight, getting comfortable to answer her questions.

“Last time, what were those things that attacked us?”

“Those are shadows. It’s hard to tell what goes through their mind, but what’s not hard to tell is why they show up. They sense food and seek it out. Once they find it, they’ll do anything to catch it. They hadn’t shown up for a while, but came back when you arrived. It’s no coincidence that they barged in here last time. What they actually are is harder to explain. They’re bad thoughts given form, in a sense. That’s why they look so gross. How they show up or why I don’t know. I’ve just been trying to hide from them.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight decided to move on, “What is this place?”

“Well, I’ve never really given it a name before, nor have I read about it in any of these books.”

“Hmm, . . . I see.” Twilight wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but figured she wasn’t going to get anything else, “What are you?”

“I’m Spike!” Spike looked annoyed at having to repeat his name.

“No, I know that. I mean, what are you? What species are you?”

“Species? You mean what kind of animal I am? Well, I’m a dragon.”

“A dragon?” Twilight nearly fell backwards. “You mean, like, those huge things in the sky that fly and breathe fire?”

“Uh-huh!” Spike puffed out his chest with pride.

“But, . . . you’re so little. How can you be a dragon? You must be just a baby.”

“Hey! I’m not a baby! How could a baby take care of himself all his life, huh? I’m twelve!”

“Still, that’s impressive. A young dragon, not even in his teenage years, living by himself in a place like this. How long have you lived here?”

“For as long as I can remember. My first memories are here. I don’t even remember having parents.”

“So you’ve been by yourself this whole time?”

“Yup.”

“How sad. . . .”

“Hey, don’t look down on me! Like I said, I’ve lived here my whole life! Now, if you’re done with your questions I’d like you to answer some of mine.” Spike crossed his arms and prepared to interrogate Twilight for a change. “Now, what are you?”

“I’m a unicorn, a race of pony that can use magic with this horn on my head.” Twilight pointed to her horn.

“That sounds. . . girly.” Spike couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Well, sorry Mr. Macho.” Twilight huffed.

“Next question: Where are you from? I’ve never seen you before, but you show up once out of nowhere! And when you passed out last time you immediately disappeared! You weren’t even in bed yet!”

Twilight furrowed her brow at that for a moment, then shook it off, ready to answer his question, “I’m from a land called Equestria, specifically from a town called Ponyville. I recently moved there and on my first night I woke up here. I don’t know how or why, but it seems that I’m going to be here a lot.”

“Well, glad that cleared things up.” Spike rolled his eyes.

“Actually, I have another question. Why do you keep referring to ‘last time’? Wasn’t it yesterday?”

“Was it? I can never tell when days pass. The moon never moves; it’s always night. There’s no way to tell time. But, since you only seem to show up when you fall asleep, I guess that means a whole day goes by between your visits. I’ll have to keep that in mind. . . .” Spike trailed off as he held his chin in his claws.

“Wait, if you can’t tell time here, then how do you know how old you are?”

Spike paused for a second as he searched for an answer, “Because. . . I just know!”

“You don’t even know how old you are, do you?” Twilight’s eye’s showed how sad she found that.

“I said don’t look down on me!” Spike stomped his feet.

Spike suddenly froze in place, his entire body tensing up. The sudden change in behavior surprised Twilight, causing her to jump a little. His body seemed to stiffen and he stood at alert, as if trying to sniff something out.

“There’s something here.”

“Here?” Twilight took a step back, fear coating her voice.

“Not here at the library, somewhere else in this world. I think I might be able to track it.” Spike sniffed the air and pointed his head in the opposite direction of the bed.

“But if we go out there, isn’t it likely that we’ll run into shadows?” Twilight asked, fear of the outside world gripping her. They weren’t even safe inside shelter! How were they going to survive the open streets of the city filled with those creatures?

“I know it’s dangerous, but I just have this feeling that whatever this is I’m sensing is important. Besides, if we do run into shadows you can protect us!” Spike smiled at Twilight, giving her a weird feeling. Why was Spike suddenly so trusting and confident in her? Before she could reply the little dragon hopped off the bed and ran down the stairs, either knowing she was going to follow or not caring either way.

“Wait, Spike!” Despite her fear, Twilight couldn’t let defenseless Spike go out alone when shadows were on the loose.

She followed him down the stairs and out the still broken front door. Twilight stood at the doorframe, hesitant to step out onto the night. . . ground. It looked like an eternal abyss to her, the stars showing no way to ensure safe travel. However, Spike walked across it just fine, as if it wasn’t anything special to him. She gulped down her fears as best she could and placed a shaky hoof forward.

She expected it to go right through and to lose her balance and fall into the endless night sky, never to be seen again. She didn’t, though. Her hoof met something solid and she tested it by placing more weight on it. When she felt safe enough, she put another hoof out in front of her. Soon, she was walking just fine atop the night sky, as if a clear plate of glass had been placed under her. When she had made some progress away from the library she made the mistake of looking down. The lack of any visible surface beneath her made Twilight’s eyes spin and give her a bad case of vertigo. She almost felt like losing her dinner.

“Are you always so slow? Come on!” Spike yelled from several yards away. Twilight shook her head and kept her head pointed forward. She wasn’t going to look down, she wasn’t going to look down, she wasn’t going to look down, she wasn’t-- and she looked down. The sight alone forced her off-balance, trying to find footing for her hooves. She decided to just close her eyes and stay close to Spike. As long as she could hear where he was going, she could follow him with no difficulty.

They had already been walking a while, but Twilight could tell they were close. She could feel it. She could. . . hear it? Something in front of her was causing a lot of noise, almost like rushing winds. She dared to open her eyes to see a giant tornado-like phenomenon before her, blocking off any way to proceed. The tornado was completely black, debris following its currents, sometimes even hurtling it in random directions, and purple energy crackled in streams. The wind seemed to pick up as they got closer, forcing them back and acting as a barrier.

“We can’t get any closer!” Spike yelled over the force of the wind, “But there’s definitely something there! I don’t know what it is, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s important to get in!”

“So what do we do?” Twilight yelled back.

“We have to find a way in! Do you think you can use your magic to get us in there?”

“I--I can try!”

Twilight focused energy on her horn. A brilliant light shined forth and nearly blinded the baby dragon. It was then that Twilight noticed the crown she had been wearing last night on her head again. The light turned purple and surrounded her and Spike. In a flash, the light disappeared and exploded. The energy had fizzled out, the only evidence of her attempt being their scorched bodies. Luckily, Twilight had managed to save them from the worst of it and merely shook off the soot that now covered her, revealing no serious injuries.

“Well, that didn’t work.”

“You think?” Spike threw his arms up, letting his own clouds of soot into the air. He suddenly tensed up, his eyes growing wider as he sensed another presence, “Shadows!”

He pointed at the swirling black tornado as several dark figures of many different shapes and sizes flew out of the whirling mass and straight at them, ready to feast on their new prey. Twilight sat her flank down next to Spike. “Get on!” Spike wasted no time. They galloped off as fast as they could from the incoming menace, but found it futile.

“They’re gaining! You have to fight!” Spike yelled into her ear.

“I can’t take on that many of them!”

“You have to at least fight long enough for us to get back to the library! We’ll figure out something then! I’ll tell you how to defeat them quickly as they come, so just do as I say!”

Twilight raced circles in her mind, but knew he was right. She just had to fight long enough to reach the library. She could do this, as long as she didn’t decide to become a hero. She could feel the shadows reaching closer to her. She didn’t waste time. Her crown let off its brilliance again and shot forth the same card as last time. “Izanagi!” The card shattered and the stallion from last night burst through, his sword drawn and raring to go. He cut through a few shadows that were leading the swarm, catching them completely by surprise, and followed his summoner down the streets of Ponyville.

Spike looked back and nearly jumped off Twilight’s in shock, “Twilight! There’s more behind us! Electricity should knock them down!”

After hearing this, Izanagi made a complete 180 and stood up on his hind legs. Several shadows resembling crows flew straight at him without faltering or realizing the danger they were in. Izanagi smashed the ground below him with his front hooves and from which electricity lashed out at them at blinding speeds, causing them to burst at the sudden electric power. It only took a second and he was back with the group.

“Turn right there!” Spike pointed at an intersection ahead of them.

Twilight made a quick turn around the corner, just dodging a couple of the charging spheres from last night. Spike looked up to see more of them flying above them, dropping their acidic saliva. The drops were narrowly missing Twilight, sometimes hitting her tail and burning the hairs off. Izanagi flew up and spun around, gaining momentum to cleave right through the airborne shadows with one strike. On contact, the spheres split and disintegrated, some of their saliva splashing in a wave below. A couple drops landed on Twilight’s back, past Spike. She cried out in pain as the liquid fire burned through her coat and damaged the skin underneath, nearly falling over from the agony. But she had to keep running- they had to reach the library, and their survival rested on her!

Twilight turned a corner and gasped in pure joy when she saw the library down the road. She gained speed, trying to outrun the shadows chasing her down the final stretch. Just then, a burst of wind appeared right under her hooves and blasted her. The attack cut her stomach and sent her sky high, forcing Spike off her back, luckily avoiding the freefall and landing on the ground a couple feet below, and Izanagi to collapse where he was running, tumbling to a stop several feet away from them. Twilight finally came back to solid ground on her back, the impact knocking the wind out of her and her position making it hard for her to see anything as she stared into the endless black void of the sky, her eyes glued open in shock.

Spike got back up relatively unscathed and raced to Twilight to help her up. Her brain finally registered the pain she was feeling and she winced, her vision growing suddenly blurry and use of her legs impaired. Spike sensed a shadow coming towards them and puffed up his cheeks. Without taking special care to choose his attack wisely, he blew out a puff of green fire, searing its wing and managing to stun it for a second rather than do damage. Izanagi took the opportunity to kick the offending shadow with his hind hoof and get in a defensive stance above his master.

Twilight’s vision finally cleared and she managed to get back up, though her legs were wobbling. She followed Izanagi’s gaze and her jaw dropped at what she saw. The many shadows that had followed them were now circling around one figure.

He was giant, much bigger than Izanagi, and wore black armor not unlike the armor Princess Celestia’s guards wore. He stood tall, grey with a black mane that waved like fire in the wind. He glared down at the weakened prey before him, his red eyes boring themselves into Twilight’s memory and printing his appearance into her brain. He gave off the feeling of an overlord with the shadows abiding by his will, the feeling of a hunter for chasing them all this way from the black tornado, and the feeling of a monster from the depths of Tartarus for his evil glare and menacing figure.

Fear struck Twilight more than ever this time as she realized she wasn’t going to be able to escape. She was going to have to fight it, this Hellish creature before her.

“Spike, can you tell me what to do here?”

“I-I’ve never seen anything like this! It’ll take me a while to give you any information. I’m sorry Twilight.”

“Just tell me when you can. And get somewhere safe. I don’t want to risk you getting hurt in this fight.”

Spike did as he was told and hid behind a building close by. Twilight spread her legs out, almost giving way to them, trying to stance herself the way Applejack showed her earlier that day. If she was hit with another attack like that, she would have to remain standing at all cost. She looked up at the grey shadow before her and grit her teeth. Izanagi charged forward and took flight at the shadow’s head, sword clenched in his teeth, and took a wide swing at the monster’s neck. One of the other shadows surrounding it flew right in the way of his sword, taking the blow for its master and disintegrating into dust. The shadow pony rammed his head into Izanagi and sent him flying to the ground next to Twilight. Taking up the opportunity, the surrounding shadows all changed course and aimed for Twilight. Izanagi remained motionless, body parts shifting in and out of existence at random, leaving her totally defenseless. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact.

“You are like the number zero. Empty, yet filled with limitless possibilities. You are able to hold many different egos, allowing you to hold and use multiple personas.”

Twilight suddenly found herself sitting in the Velvet Room again, though their presence was faint. Igor looked up at her with a small, raspy chuckle, “It seems you’ve run into a bit of trouble. But do not worry, you already possess the power to overcome this obstacle.”

Derpy noticed a small light dance in front of her. She reached into a bag that was sitting next to her and brought out a folder with a sheet of plastic slots big enough for cards to fit. “Look, some mail!” She exclaimed in delight. The light formed a card and fell into the folder. There was sword pointing up on a wheel, black lines dividing the circle into sections, like a clock or a wheel. One animal, a cat, stood up top, displaying fancy clothing and happiness while a serpent occupied the bottom, lying dead wearing ragged clothes and unhappiness. The card changed and started showing moving pictures of Applejack, specifically the time Twilight spent with her earlier. It was as if the card was a roll of film, somehow recording their time together to keep here.

“Oh, yay! The Fortune Arcana! How rare!” Derpy closed the book and tried to contain her excitement. Then, she stopped as realization came to her. “Oh yeah, I haven’t told you what my job is, huh? Well, you’re in a bit of a pickle, so I guess that’ll have to wait. But I will tell you that you’ll be seeing a lot of me!” She smiled as if she were talking to her best friend.

“All you must do is simply believe in yourself. Do that and you can fight your way through this dangerous road. Farewell.” Igor finished with a “farewell” wave and Twilight’s vision shifted.

She was back in the battle, the shadows still charging at her. She looked over at Izanagi and felt a new wave of confidence. This feeling resonated with her crown and it lit up again. Twilight focused on this new source of power and let her grip on Izanagi fade. Izanagi’s body became covered in light and his body shifted shape, forming his card. Then, the card turned around to reveal the other side, its bright light melting off just like Izanagi’s the first time. It revealed the Fortune card Twilight just saw in the Velvet Room.

“Fortuna!”

The card shattered and a new persona took the stage. This pony had a pure silver coat cut down the mid-section by a wheel similar to that on the card. Her cloak covered the top part of her body with the hood hiding her short blue mane. Her eyes were pale blue, appearing glassy and strangely mysterious. She stood daintily on her hooves, first landing on the tips of her hooves before slowly lowering herself to a normal stance. Each step seemed to let off a small reaction, dust and mist cloaking her lower half. She stared up at the giant shadow unflinchingly and prepared herself.

She lifted her front hooves from the ground and stood, the wheel revealing itself in all its glory. You could see right in between the white border and separators, the strange sight attracting anyone to her only to stare in wonder. She smiled and touched her hoof to the wheel, this time reacting with small green sparks. She dragged the wheel around once, slowly, as if hypnotizing those watching. The incoming shadows suddenly halted just before making contact with Twilight, who hadn’t moved a muscle or lost any of her confidence.

Fortuna lifted her hoof but the wheel kept spinning, faster and faster until it looked like a full circle. Several green circles formed in front of her, moving counter-clockwise and spinning. The green forces in these circles twisted around before letting themselves loose onto the shadows as blasts of wind, effectively obliterating all but the large, fiery stallion.

“Twilight!” Spike yelled from his hiding place, “Attack his legs! If you can knock him off balance, you might be able to do some serious damage to him before he can get back up!”

Twilight didn’t hesitate. Fortuna spun her wheel again and another blast of wind, this time directly under the giant’s front hooves. The unexpected force tripped him up, sending his leg in a random direction. The shadow toppled over, causing the ground the shake when he impacted. One more swift attack would be all she needed. Twilight decided to bring back her stronger fighter to make sure the next blow would be the last.

Fortuna glowed and took her card form again, turned around, and Izanagi burst forth The Fool. He didn’t even land on the ground as he kept careening forward towards the downed foe and impaled him at his temple. He tilted the sword and dragged it through the head and over the side, the sword cleaving its way through the skin of the shadow as Izanagi pulled it down with his weight. The shadow started flailing in agony as his life slipped away from him, and his body slowly disintegrated into purple dust, following his minions. Soon he was completely gone, showing no signs of ever appearing before or since.

Twilight stood there, panting and gasping. Her adrenaline faded and the spent energy finally took its toll. Her weakened legs finally gave out from underneath her and she rested on the ground, breathing evenly as her body was finally allowed to sleep. Spike ran up to her and checked for signs of damage or serious injury and sighed when he found none that wasn’t there before. He noticed her body slowly fading, just like last time. Her crown hit the ground with a clatter, and pike picked it up and smiled.

“You. . . you really are trying to protect me. . . .” Spike’s eyes began to water as it finally hit him. He then shook his head, tears flying off his face but failing to clear his mind. “But. . . why? What am I to you? Am I really supposed to believe that some random pony just started showing up to keep me company? Do you really care for me, . . . or are you only protecting me because I’m useful to you?” Spike began to cry again, sobs and hiccups interrupting his thinking as he sat down, his eyes buried in his arms and resting on his knees, not paying attention to his surroundings, or caring if he was attacked, “Twilight, . . . please don’t leave me. Please, show me that I can trust you.”

Comments

[Awe Striker]

Augh, I hate when things like that happen.

But yes, please do continue!

[TundraStanza]

"It's strange that I'm only a grammar nazi when correcting people. When I write it's like I forget basic English XD"
Actually it's not that strange. I'm like that too.

[Scygnus]

In this Mythopoetic approach, which views the Major Arcana as a journey through life taken by the character of the Fool (the Fool being the first card, or the zero card, of the Major Arcana), the Wheel of Fortune represents the intercession of random chance into the Fool's path. The card represents the forces that can help or hinder the querant suddenly or unpredictably.

It can also represent the underlying order that the Magician attempts to master. The letters on the wheel were intended by Waite to mean "Rota Taro Orat Tora Ator," which he "translated" (this term used loosely) to: "The Wheel of Taro[t] speaks the Law of Ator [Hathor, or Love]."

Through its cross sum (the sum of the digits), it is closely connected to The Magician and The Sun (cards 1 and 19 of the Major Arcana respectively). Each represents a break with the previously established order: the Magician starting the journey; The Wheel of Fortune introducing random chance; and The Sun reborn from the underworld.

Copypasta'd from Wikipedia. I think Twilight would naturally fall under The Magician in this approach to the High Arcana (The Fool would only naturally apply to a newborn who knows nothing) so the relation of Fortune and Magician makes sense in the context of Applejack and Twilight. If I may speculate, Applejack will have to be convinced to step out and take a chance, to spin Fortune's Wheel with no guarantees where it'll end up in order to save her farm... and possibly herself.

As for who will form the Magican S-Link, I'm going to put in a guess for either the CMC (collectively) or Trixie, if she happens to show up before the Nightmare Moon incident, which I'm pretty sure you have picked out for the climax.

I am most interested in meeting everypony's shadow.

[Jlargent]

By the way I was wondering why did you choose Ditzy instead of say Lyra?

[sorakun555]

467827

To be honest I just thought it's be cool if she were Igor's assistant. It was one of the first ideas that came to mind with this fic. No really deep reason, just thought it'd be a cool way to put her in the story.