Personas of Harmony

by EricStarstorm

Chapter 22: Pride

The birds were singing outside, and to the untrained ear, that was all there was to it. A keen listener, on the other hand, could hear that not only were the birds singing, but they were singing with structure and to a rhythm. Many of them also followed similar tunes, with those that didn't providing backup notes that supported the primary tune. All in all, everything flowed like a well-conducted symphony. Given that the source of the singing was Fluttershy's songbird choir, that probably made sense.

It wasn't often that the songbird choir practiced, but those that were familiar with it recognized it even on the other side of town when it happened. Because of this, Twilight and Spike heard it even as they walked through the market. They stopped to absorb the tune for a moment, their silence helping them hear it a little bit better. It took a good portion of Twilight's willpower to stop her from humming along.

"Fluttershy's that bored, huh?" Spike asked.

Twilight stifled a laugh. "Don't be like that, Spike."

"Hey, Twilight!" a familiar voice called. "C'mere fer a second!"

Twilight and Spike turned around and saw Applejack at her fruit stand, flagging the two of them down. Twilight walked over to her, smiling. "Hey, AJ. How are sales looking today?"

"Mighty fine, I'd say!" Applejack was beaming. "Ah asked Big Mac to take the helm fer today, so when he comes by, will ya come with me to the farm? There's somethin' Ah gotta talk to ya about."

"Well, it's not like we're busy or anything," Spike replied. "We just came here to buy some stuff to hold us over for the next few days. After that, I was gonna try to get some practice in, but..."

"What in the hay do YOU need to practice for? Last time ya fought, ya razed the battlefield like it was nothin'!"

"Exactly! I wanna be able to do that whenever I want!...Anyway, I can put that off."

"We should all go in for practice one of these days, though," Twilight said. "There's no telling if we're capable of handling whatever comes next. We might not be dealing with regular Shadows anymore."

Heavy hoofsteps caught everyone's attention, and they turned to see Big Macintosh walking over to the stand. Applejack smiled brightly as he approached.

"Yer gonna keep this open 'til 'round sundown, right?" Applejack asked.

"Eeyup," Big Mac replied.

"Thanks a bundle, big brother." Applejack hugged Big Mac tightly, and he reciprocated. They broke apart after a moment, and she turned towards Twilight. "Y'all go ahead 'n get the things y'all wanted. Ah ain't goin' anywhere without ya."

"We'll just be a second, then!" Spike exclaimed. He turned around sharply and ran over to another market stall. Twilight rolled her eyes, but she followed him at a much more controlled pace.

---

After Twilight and Spike were done shopping, they went with Applejack to Sweet Apple Acres, just as planned. On the way over, Twilight noticed that Applejack seemed to have something on her mind, but she figured that she would talk about it when she was ready. They were currently leaning on the fence just outside the barn, where they had a good view of the orchard. For a long while, they just stayed like that--looking over the farm's pride and joy, leaning on the fence in silence.

"Twilight, Spike...Ah suppose yer wonderin' why Ah brought ya out here," Applejack eventually said.

Twilight was a bit surprised to finally hear Applejack's voice. She turned towards her and saw the distant look in her eyes. "...Yeah, I suppose. If you don't want to talk about--"

"No, no. Talkin' about it is the entire reason Ah asked ya to come." Applejack never turned to face Twilight as she talked, and the fog in her eyes never went away. "It's just that nopony knows about this but me, Rarity, and the family. Ah haven't told anypony else."

"Well, what is it?" Spike asked.

"It's the story of how mah parents died."

Twilight and Spike both froze instantly. Applejack's parents were always a bit of a touchy subject for her--any time someone brought it up, she lashed out at them until they let it drop. When Father's and Mother's Day came, she stayed home all day and wouldn't see anyone. She even went so far as to cover up one of their pictures of them with a bandanna for a short while.

"Do ya remember when Princess Celestia planned on turnin' the old castle into a museum?"

Twilight nodded. "She told me about it during class one day. She said that making sure nopony forgets what happened there is the best way to keep it from happening again."

"And do ya remember why she shut it down?"

"Hmm...I think it was because there was an accident while they were trying to repair the bridge..."

The realization hit Twilight like a freight train. Given that Applejack brought it up at all, the connection couldn't have been more glaringly obvious.

"But Ah'm bettin' ya don't know the whole story."

"...The Princess never went into detail..."

"She wasn't there. Ah was." Applejack sighed before continuing to steady her nerves. "There was a big ol' team workin' on the bridge repair job, seven days a week, from sunup to sundown. When they started, the thing was barely even a bridge anymore. They set out to change it into somethin' real fancy-like, but we were short on materials. The rope-'n-boards thing it's got goin' on now was meant to be temporary."

"Wait...if there was a big team, then how come the rest of the ponies on it didn't know about...the accident?" Spike asked.

"Ah was just about to get to that. About ten days into the project, pretty much everyone took the day off. Their backs were hurtin', their kids needed some love, stuff like that. But mah parents refused to...they said that the others' reasonin' fer takin' the day off was just a buncha excuses. They had to get that work done as quick as possible, even if they had to do it alone. They were real stubborn that way."

Applejack paused. Twilight and Spike couldn't think of anything appropriate to say.

"When they went, they wanted me 'n Big Mac to go with 'em to keep 'em company, and Rarity tagged along 'cause she wanted to keep us company. Ah didn't think that she would go into the Everfree with us, but she didn't have much of a problem with it--Ah guess she knew she was in capable hooves. When we got to the bridge, mah parents started workin' right away. They even got Rarity to help out a bit with her telekinesis thing, but her magic was still developin' at the time."

Twilight was a bit confused when she heard that last bit. "How old were you when this happened?".

"'Bout Apple Bloom's age. I'd only gotten mah cutie mark a coupl'a days before this. Same deal with Rarity, considerin' we all got our cutie marks around the same time. Anyway, they were both standin' in the middle of the thing when...the rope connectin' it to the far side of the cliff snapped."

At this point, Applejack had to stop to collect herself. Twilight and Spike weren't sure what they could possibly say.

"Me 'n Big Mac were no help, ma parents couldn't run back towards us...and as hard as she tried to keep the bridge from fallin', Rarity just wasn't strong enough. To make matters worse, they probably coulda lived through it if they hadn't been workin' themselves so hard the past ten days. Earth ponies're made outta tougher stuff than unicorns 'n pegasi."

"Man...that all fits together way too well," Spike muttered. "It's...almost like fate."

"That's what Ah thought too, fer a while. Ah think at the time, Rarity was even more shook up than we were...after she lost 'er lunch, all she could do was hold onto me and apologize over 'n over. Me 'n Big Mac...we just sat there til somepony came to check on us, numb to the world."

"Applejack..." Twilight put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "I appreciate that you're confiding in us...but why? Why us and not Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie?"

"Rainbow's not the best when it comes to emotional stuff, Fluttershy and Pinkie would try too hard to make me feel better, and Rarity already knows the whole thing. Ah can count on y'all to be rational...most of the time. As fer why Ah'm lettin' it out now, Ah just feel like Ah've been holdin' this in fer way too long." A warm smile spread across Applejack's muzzle, and she gestured towards the orchard. "And there's one other reason, too."

Twilight and Spike looked over. Apparently, Apple Bloom had gone over to the trees without them noticing. She was currently bucking one of the larger trees repeatedly, knocking down a hoofful of apples as each kick hit its mark. She looked over and waved briefly as she saw that they were staring at her, and they all waved back. After that, she went right back to work.

"What's gotten into her?" Spike asked.

"This has been goin' on ever since Ah came back from the other side," Applejack replied. "After Apple Bloom got all the reunion gushing outta her system, she told me that she had come to her own realization while Ah was gone...that if somethin' ever happened to me, she had to be ready to pick up the slack. It meant a lot, especially after...what we went through...while Ah was in there."

"That reminds me...if getting Apple Bloom all of those things was such a burden on the farm, why do it?" Twilight asked. "Sure, she's impatient...but I'm sure if you explained it to her, she would understand."

"When Ma 'n Pa died, my foalhood was over." Applejack finally turned to look Twilight in the eye. "Ah got mah cutie mark before they passed, but foalhood don't end there. Ah was so busy tryin' to get mah cutie mark that Ah never got the chance to enjoy it fer what it was. And...just because mah own foalhood was taken away from me doesn't mean hers has to be too." She turned back towards her sister. "But now look at 'er. This is the most initiative Ah've ever seen from 'er. Up 'til now, me 'n Big Mac had to shoulder most of the costs to raise her ourselves...but if she was a burden before, she sure ain't one now. It got me thinkin'...maybe she's just been like this for a while, and Ah was just blind to it the whole time because Ah wanted the farm to succeed."

"Well...it is true that she wanted all of that crazy stuff to crusade with."

"Of course she wants crazy stuff. She's a little filly with a big imagination! Y'all were one yerself once, y'know." Applejack's eyes softened and finally seemed to focus as she continued watching Apple Bloom. "All this time, part of me saw her as a project. But it's just like what y'all told Spike...she's mah sister. And loved ones are never a burden."

A sound like shattering glass drew everyone's attention. They all looked up to find that Stonewall had summoned herself. Spike smiled in giddy anticipation while Twilight and Applejack watched in awe as Stonewall was cocooned in blue light. When it faded, her torso was even bigger and no longer T-shaped, and was reinforced with steel plates. At the bottom was a metal skirt of some kind. Instead of her shoulders being extensions of her torso, she now had enormous shoulder guards in the shape of trapezoids that had castle battlements on top. Her hands were now robotic and had nearly quadrupled in size, nearly rivaling the size of her host. Her head was now much like a tiny castle tower with a gaping hole in the front, through which nothing could be seen. Her entire body appeared to be made of reinforced steel as opposed to stone bricks. After a sufficient time had passed, she turned into a Strength card and faded into the air.

"...Stronghold."

"Congratulations, AJ!" Spike exclaimed. "I bet that feels awesome!"

Applejack laughed softly for a moment. "And to think...all Ah needed to do to make this happen was to actually have a lick of common sense. Ah must look like a pretty silly pony right about now."

"How can you look like a silly pony when you just got over what was making you a silly pony?" Twilight asked. "...If that makes any sense."

"Ah suppose so...well, there's only one thing fer me to do, really." Applejack's smile grew wider still. "Ah'm gonna use this new power to make sure these murders don't take away Apple Bloom's foalhood, either."

"You're gonna do a great job. I'm proud of you, Applejack."

With that, nothing more needed to be said. For a while, everyone kept leaning on the fence, watching Apple Bloom buck the trees in the orchard as if her life depended on it.

---

That night, Twilight was summoned to the Velvet Room. She was understandably confused by this, but she knew by now that she was never summoned without there being a good reason.

"You've done well in your latest trial," Igor said. "Though the odds stood against you for a while, you managed to turn the tables...and you fought back with aplomb. It was wondrous to witness."

"Thank you," Twilight replied with a nod. "So what am I here for tonight?"

"Margaret will answer that question for you." Igor turned towards his assistant. "Please do shed some light for the girl."

Margaret cleared her throat. "Twilight...do you know what it is you need to fix yet?"

The question caught Twilight off-guard. She had been concerned over Applejack and didn't pay much attention to her own problems. To her, it came out of nowhere. "...Not yet...but how do I look for it when I don't know where to start?"

Margaret closed her eyes and nodded thoughtfully. "I see..." She opened her eyes again and stared into Twilight's very soul. "I am not the Velvet Room's first attendant. That title belongs to my sister, Elizabeth. My brother Theodore also preceded me. We have each tended to different guests in our time."

"Umm, not to be rude...but what does this have to do with--"

"There has been an unspoken tradition amongst us...when a guest has lost their way, or when we have lost our own way, we challenge the guest to a duel. You are doing well in your path, and you have bested everything that has come your way. But..." Margaret's eyes hardened. "If you do not find and embrace your own faults, you will never survive what lies ahead."

Twilight was shocked into silence. She tried to find some words--any words--but it was as if her tongue had gone numb. She stood there, apprehension and even fear welling up in her.

"You have done extremely well to survive this long. But you have lost your way where it matters most...your own soul. Your own needs." Margaret's expression mellowed. "I am going to help you find that with a duel."

"B-but...how does that..."

"When one is in great peril...that is when their character shines through the most. Do they run? Do they fight? Do they watch? Why do they do this? What do they feel? Peril is one way of discovering oneself...and as cruel as it sounds, I believe it is what you need."

Twilight still couldn't speak. She could only stare at Margaret, a feeling of dread and confusion overtaking her.

"The day after tomorrow...find me in the Shadows' realm. I will create a suitable arena. Bring your friends as well--you will not defeat me without them. Fight as though you mean to kill, or you may never find the answer you need."

After a few seconds of silence, Igor chuckled slightly. "Do not be afraid. Rely on the bonds you have...rally your powers to their fullest extent...and you need not fear death in battle, even from one as powerful as Margaret or I. You can overcome any challenge that comes your way. Do not forget that."

The Velvet Room started to fade into Twilight's subconsciousness before she could respond. It didn't matter much--she couldn't say anything to that if she wanted to. Though she had been fast asleep when she had entered the room, her dread awoke her in the night as soon as it faded completely. Though she tried, she could not sleep.

How could she fight Margaret--someone who had helped her more than nearly anyone else on this journey--to the death?

Author's Note:

Stronghold
Blocks Physical, resists Fire and Ice.
-Gigantic Fist
-Deathbound
-Marakukaja
-High Counter
-Makarakarn
-Guardian - Reflects Physical attacks that target any ally for the next turn.

Comments

[TSLsmokey]

Given how hard Margaret was originally in P4... Twilight and her friends are going to have a VERY tough time.

[shinigamisparda]

Oh boy. Get ready for Megidolan spamming.

[Grahf]

When Stonewall 'evolved' I almost thought you were gonna call him Alexander cause the description of him sound like the Alexander from the FF series

[EricStarstorm]

4689184 That's actually not too far off.
Stronghold's still a girl, though.

[SoulboundAlchemist]

Ok, that was interesting. I'm surprised that you aren't taking the P3P route and having them rebattle the opponents they've fought already, followed by Elizabeth. That would have been much more intereting. But, this works to. Don't leave us hanging as long as you did last time.