Personas of Harmony

by EricStarstorm

Chapter 27: The Culprit

A familiar shade of blue entered Twilight's vision as her eyelids slowly fluttered open. Shaking off the usual grogginess, Twilight found herself standing within the Velvet Room. Igor and Margaret sat on the couches in front of her, just as they always did. She had come to the Velvet Room several times now, but Twilight couldn't help but be confused whenever she was summoned by its residents.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor said cordially, bringing him to Twilight's attention. "I have summoned you here for a rather informal purpose, so there is no need to be concerned."

"An informal purpose?" A smirk played at the edges of Twilight's lips. "Of all the things I've seen since this mess started, this is the most surprising."

Igor closed his eyes and chuckled. "Well, aren't we witty tonight?"

"You have been summoned here to receive our congratulations...and a warning," Margaret interjected. "I suggest you take the latter seriously."

And there went the smirk. Twilight cleared her throat and stood at attention.

"You have done very well in making it so far," Igor said after he saw that Twilight was paying attention. "Even though you have no heading, you still march forward into the murk and the gloom. You show a level of dedication to your cause--and your contract--that we have not seen in some time. That you can still have faith even in the face of seemingly insurmountable doubt...it is an achievement all its own."

Given her modesty, Twilight's cheeks burned as Igor spoke. She hadn't really thought of it that way before. "You really think so?"

"It takes more than just an ordinary being to keep marching on when all seems to be lost. Even though there is so much obstruction in your path, however...your efforts are not in vain." Igor's ever-mysterious smile widened. "You will learn a great truth sometime after you awaken. I am certain of this."

"A great truth? What kind of great truth?"

"I'm afraid I am unable to tell you that at this time. However, I can tell you that it will change the course of your journey...what that means exactly is up to you to decide. Whether your adventure ends after this truth is revealed, or whether you continue until you have searched every nook and cranny...either way, a great trial stands before you."

"You have proven yourselves capable of defeating me, so you probably do not have to worry about the battle that lies ahead," Margaret said, smiling ever so slightly. "But that does not mean you should become complacent. Fight with all of your power."

Twilight nodded. "I will."

Igor let out a low chuckle that was somehow even more mysterious than the last. "The fog only grows thicker as your journey continues...but I am confident that some light will be shed at last."

"Oh, um...before I go, can I ask you something?"

"Naturally. It is my duty to answer any question you have for as long as our services are required."

"Well...this is going to sound strange, but...it's been bugging me for a while now..." Igor didn't respond. Twilight waited for a moment to see if he would, but he was just listening. "...Who's pulling this chariot?"

There was a moment of awkward silence. For a moment, Twilight could've sworn she saw Igor's smile falter.

"I look forward to your next visit," Igor said, a bit more hastily than usual. Before Twilight could say anything more, the Velvet Room faded from her consciousness.

---

Just as Twilight was settling back in to sleep, her door suddenly slammed open, and there was a loud crash from downstairs. At first, Twilight didn't react, hoping that she was dreaming. However, this had happened enough already for her to know that was a pointless thing to wish for. She sighed and sat up. "What is it, Rainbow Dash?"

A cyan blur zipped into Twilight's room and revealed itself to be just who she thought it was. "Get your stuff, Twilight! It's two days till rain!"

"What stuff? I don't take anything with me on these trips." Twilight rubbed her eyes. "And since when do you get up early?"

"Hey, I can wake up early if I need to!" Rainbow crossed her forelegs indignantly. "But never mind that! We need to get a move on!"

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up." Twilight climbed down from her bed and woke up Spike.

"Okay, you guys get something to eat, and I'll see you at the barn." Without waiting for a response, Rainbow flew downstairs and out of the library.

"...Why is she concerned?" Spike asked. "It's not like we ever fail when we're on the other side."

"I was thinking the same thing," Twilight said. "Come on, we shouldn't keep her waiting for too long."

Spike hopped out of his bed and stretched. "I'm a bit confused, though. All of us have already been targeted, and last time we went there on one of these days, no one was kidnapped at all."

"Last two times." Twilight smoothed out her bangs as she spoke. "You forgot the time with Time Turner and the others."

"That just backs up my point! What if they stopped trying? There wouldn't be any point in checking today."

"We should still keep our guard up until someone is caught. They might be trying to lull us into a false sense of security. At any rate, I'd rather not start brainstorming until we all meet up."

Spike looked as if he had something else to say, but he didn't say it. Instead, he let out a heavy sigh.

Twilight turned around. "What is it?"

"I...I just really want this to be over already." Spike averted his eyes. "It's kinda fun, fighting to solve the case...but I really miss Ponyville the way it usually is. You can't tell at first glance, but everyone is still nervous that somepony else is gonna die. With that going on...it's easy to forget why we love it here so much in the first place."

"You're right, Spike." Twilight put a hoof on Spike's chin, turning his head so that she could look into his eyes. "But don't you think that just gives us more of a reason to fight as hard as we can? So that Ponyville will be the peaceful town we all know and love again?"

"Yeah...yeah, of course it does." Spike started walking downstairs. "Let's just do cereal this morning."

---

"So what do you sense, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie stood a little bit ahead of everyone else. Love Bubble held one of her hearts in front of each of Pinkie's eyes, and a translucent golden material appeared to connect them, giving the illusion of heart-shaped glasses. As Love Bubble hovered there, the hearts on her head swayed back and forth as if they were leaves in a breeze, sending out small waves of barely-visible light. After a short while of this, Love Bubble disappeared, and Pinkie turned towards the others. "It looks like Time Turner beat us to the punch. His group is here too!"

"Wait, really?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah! And there's a really strong Shadow, too!" Pinkie turned and pointed at a slight angle to the right of where the group was facing. "They're this way. I think a new area has formed."

"Is there not a victim?" Rarity asked. "Why would there be a powerful Shadow if it didn't come from anyone?"

"Well, we'd better see what's going on," Twilight said. "Pinkie, can you tell if they're hurt or not?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Not from this far away...all I could tell for sure is that they're really close together. They're probably fighting each other as we speak."

"Then let's go already!" Rainbow exclaimed, flying so that she was a little farther along than Pinkie. "If they are in trouble, then they'll be mincemeat if we don't pick up our pace!"

Without any more words, the group started running. However, the instant they left the ground they had been standing on, they heard the familiar sound of bubbling tar.

"Ah, pony feathers! There are Shadows coming!" Twilight yelled.

The blobs of shapeless matter floated into the air, taking a variety of shapes. None of the shapes were new, but every familiar shape appeared--from the spheres with long tongues to the jittery UFOs. Dozens of Shadows--hundreds, even--surrounded the group.

"We don't have time for this!" Spike exclaimed. His Arcana card floated in front of his face. "You're up, Atlas!"

With a burst of flame, Atlas faded into existence just above Spike. As the others summoned their own Personas, Atlas lifted his globe towards the sky, and several clouds of energy appeared, dispersed somewhat sporadically above the Shadows. Bolts of energy rained down from the clouds, striking down many of the Shadows at once. Before anyone else could launch an attack, some of the UFO and the police Shadows aimed their cannons and crossbows at the group and opened fire.

"Looks like we got our work cut out fer us," Applejack said as Stronghold conjured a golden shield in front of her. All of the crossbow bolts and cannon rounds were drawn to the shield as if by a magnet, and the projectiles bounced off like spitballs.

"Don't worry, I'll clear a path! We can lose 'em if we hurry!" Rainbow shouted. Hayabusa flapped her wings, catching enough Shadows in the wind to allow her to land. She launched herself into the crowd, spinning like a drill. In her wake, Shadows were either knocked to the side or vaporized. There was an egress, but it wasn't wide enough to run through.

"Now what do we do?" Fluttershy asked as Sekhmet incinerated a particularly brave Shadow.

"I'll try to make the path wider!" Rainbow yelled.

"We don't have time!" Pinkie said. "Don't worry...I think I have an idea."

Love Bubble sprung into action, flying over to Atlas and snatching the globe from his hands. Atlas shook a clawed fist in protest as Love Bubble set the globe on the floor and landed on top of it.

"...Pinkie, are you trying to roll over them?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie had an outrageously innocent look in her eyes. "Maaaybe."

Twilight rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny that there was some merit in her plan. Star Swirl aimed his staff towards Atlas and then Love Bubble, raising their offensive power. With that done, Love Bubble started rolling the globe forward. It was a bit slow at first, but when Rainbow saw what she was doing, Hayabusa boosted her speed. Using these boosts combined with her acceleration, Love Bubble rolled the globe over every Shadow in sight, crushing those that were foolish enough not to jump out of the way. Through it all, Love Bubble's expression was as jubilant as it always was.

"Now is the time," Rarity said. "Let us hurry, before more Shadows arrive."

Everyone started running. Atlas tried to retrieve his globe, but when he did, Love Bubble reached down towards him and bopped him on the head. She continued rolling it as she followed the others.

"So what was that about, anyway?" Applejack asked. "Never seen that many Shadows at once before."

"Something's got them riled up," Pinkie explained. She turned towards Twilight. "It's probably because of that strong Shadow. That's how it was when you were rescuing most of us, right?"

"Something like that," Twilight replied. "Something was different about this, though...before, the Shadows didn't show up until we got to the new area that had formed. I thought they were drawn to those places because the power of the Shadow selves was like a beacon for them."

Spike perked up a bit just as Atlas finally got his globe back. "Could that new Shadow be controlling them? Maybe it sensed we were here and sent them to stop us."

"Would a Shadow self do that?" Fluttershy asked.

Something caught Rainbow's eye just as she was about to add something. She took to the air, staying just above the others. "Hey, look over there!"

The group followed Rainbow's gaze. Just ahead, the tile floor started turning into charred grass. A large, scorched plain, about the same size as the crater that had once been the colosseum, stretched across the landscape. Tombstones littered the plain sporadically, each one in a different state of repair--some were like new, and others had already collapsed. Some of the less pristine tombstones had a few bones scattered around them. In the center of the plain, Time Turner and his Persona stood alone against a dark grey mare. All of the others from Time Turner's group had been knocked over, unconscious or just unable to stand.

"That's HER!" Rainbow yelled. "That's the pony I chased the other day!"

"We'd better get over there quick, then!" Applejack said. Everyone changed directions, running towards the source of the commotion.

A few seconds before they reached their destination, Time Turner looked over his shoulder and saw them. He turned around as they drew closer. "No! Stay away! It's too powerful!"

"What're you talking about?" Spike asked just as he got within range to ask without raising his voice. "We're here to help you!"

"You idiots! Save yourselves before it attacks again!"

"Playing the martyr, eh?" the pegasus asked. "Well, it's too late for that. There's nothing you can do to change your fate now."

"So you DO talk!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Just what are you doing here?!"

"Stop wasting time and RUN!" Time Turner yelled. "It won't hesitate to kill you if you don't!"

"Silence!" the pegasus exclaimed. Her eyes flashed briefly, and Time Turner fell over. He was still conscious, but he couldn't move. "I should've known it was too risky to wait so long. I should have done this long ago."

"Hold on just one moment!" Rarity said. "What in Equestria are you talking about?"

The pegasus rolled her eyes and glared at the ponies before her. "Is it not obvious by now? I'm the one who you've been looking for."

"G-girls!" Pinkie took a step back, her eyes wide with fear. "That's...that's not a pony! It's a Shadow!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Twilight demanded.

There was a moment's pause. The pegasus's frown slowly turned upwards, stopping upon reaching a terrifying smirk. She closed her eyes for a moment and started chuckling ever so softly. Blue mist surrounded her and her voice began to warp as her laughter intensified. Suddenly, she burst out with a cackle and opened her eyes. They were the all-too-familiar shade of sickly yellow that had by now burned its way into Twilight's memory forever. The blue mist swirled around her like a tornado, but it was still thin enough to see through. After what felt like an eternity, she finally calmed down. The blue mist stayed near her feet, and she simply smiled darkly at the group. "You're a perceptive one, aren't you?"

"H-how is that possible?" Fluttershy asked. "What ARE you?"

"You really don't know anything about the monsters you've been fighting...fine, I guess I'll spell it out. It's rare, but sometimes a Shadow can regain the ego they once lost...and when that happens, sometimes they choose to take different forms. I am one such Shadow...and I awoke with only one thought on my mind." The Shadow narrowed her eyes. "That thought...was to cause my world to merge with yours. That is the one reason for my existence."

"And just how in the hay do ya expect to pull that off?" Applejack demanded. "Yer just one Shadow. Ain't no way ya can do somethin' like that on yer own!"

"Persona-users are ponies--with an essence of Equestria--that have tamed and controlled their Shadows and accepted into themselves. The Shadows have an essence of this world, and since they reside within the Persona-user, they have the essence of both worlds within them. I plan to draw on the combined essence and use you as chains to connect the two worlds. Your power, combined with the power of the last group that fought me, shall be far more than sufficient for my purposes."

"Chains to...I don't get a word you're saying!" Rainbow yelled. "Enough beating around the bush! You threw ponies in here, is that what you're saying?!"

The Shadow was silent for a moment, a small smile on its face. Its face darkened as it stared into Rainbow's eyes, as if that would answer her question.

"ANSWER ME, DANG IT!"

Before the Shadow could say anything, however, Hayabusa flew forward, claws raised. She got to the Shadow in less than a second and let loose a barrage of lightning-fast strikes. However, they were all blocked as the Shadow's mist floated in front of Hayabusa, forming a barrier that she couldn't break. She flew backwards a bit, anticipating a counterattack.

"I am the Blackguard," the Shadow said. It floated into the air a bit, supported by its blue aura. The mist slowly began to turn red as she floated higher. "I will fulfill the purpose I was born with...even if I have to destroy your bodies to do it."

Red mist fully engulfed the Blackguard. Several pools of black sludge formed near it, and as soon as they did, their contents began to flow into it. The cloud of mist only grew larger until it finally dispersed. At first, the ponies couldn't see anything--just a huge mass of tar, floating in the air. However, soon it began to take shape. It was a seven-foot humanoid made of the same black sludge, floating by some unseen force just as Margaret had. Only one eye was visible, and it glowed the usual shade of yellow. On its wrists and ankles, there were large metal bands with chains emerging from them, which were attached to the ground by small metal loops that had appeared there. Four wavy shapes floated in an X behind it, and near each one were three spikes that almost looked like feathers.

"This one's tough!" Pinkie yelled. "Please be careful!"

The Blackguard moved first. It floated a bit higher into the air and lifted its arms towards the sky, and the yellow fog around everyone began to darken. It slowly became darker and darker until it was pitch-black, making only the Shadow's yellow eye visible.

"Ah, horse apples," Applejack said. "Anypony got a light?"

"Leave that to me!" Spike exclaimed.

Atlas swung his free hand upwards, and several golden circles appeared all around. Glowing talismans rose and spiraled up from them, providing a good bit of light. However, similar to how the darkness in the circus tent had worked, it did nothing to abate the lack of clarity. Meanwhile, the Blackguard's eye briefly glowed a bit brighter as the movement of its limbs could just barely be seen. A raging inferno suddenly burst from the ground, washing over the ponies like a tidal wave. Spike and Fluttershy were unaffected, but the others recoiled in pain. Rarity, given her weakness to fire, did a bit more than recoil--she skidded backwards, unable to stand. As the attack ended, several standing flames lingered, but they did not pierce the shadows.

"Rarity, are you all right?!" Rainbow said as she flew over, her back to the battle.

"I-I'm...all right," Rarity replied. "We must strike back. Don't let your--"

It was too late. A bolt of electricity lanced through the air and hit Hayabusa square in the stomach, and Rainbow slammed into the ground with the force. With what strength she had left, Rarity directed Ace of Spades, and he healed a few of the two ponies' wounds.

"Pathetic!" the Blackguard yelled. "Is that really all you can do?!"

"This is bad!" Pinkie yelled. "The darkness is even jamming my abilities! If we don't do something about it fast, we aren't gonna win this fight!"

"Don't even bother!" The Shadow moved again, and a pillar of ice suddenly appeared around Fluttershy. Another movement, and Twilight was blown back by a fierce whirlwind--but it didn't affect her quite as badly as it once would have. "Just give it up! Do you really think you can win?!"

"We have come this far!" Rarity yelled back. Ace of Spades brandished his rapier, preparing to charge. "I WILL NOT SUBMIT!"

"You tell 'em, Rarity!" Spike said. He focused his gaze on the Shadow's yellow eye. "Let's DO THIS!"

Atlas and Ace of Spades charged forward. As they flew, Hayabusa wrapped them and herself in green auras, and she and Stronghold flew to join them. They all flew right up to the eye and began a frenzied assault with globe, sword, fist and claw. However, not even one strike managed to land. Laughing, the Shadow's eye flashed again, sending the four Personas flying with a blast of white light.

"It's like it wasn't even there!" Rainbow yelled. "What the hay are we supposed to do now?!"

"Try magic!" Twilight yelled. "Maybe it's immune to physical attacks or something!"

The others nodded. Hayabusa attacked with blades of green wind; Ace of Spades instantly froze the area all around the yellow eye; Sekhmet incinerated the same area, shattering the ice; and Atlas let loose bolts of purple energy. The assault lasted for nearly a whole minute. When it was over, however, the Blackguard was still completely unscathed.

"Pinkie Pie, PLEASE tell me you can explain this," Twilight said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"It's...almost as if the Shadow is all around," Pinkie replied. "The darkness all around us...I think it's actually part of the Shadow itself."

"Then why can't we hurt it? We're hitting it head on!"

"I don't know...it doesn't make sense to me either."

"Frustrated?" the Shadow asked smugly. "Well...I'm sure you won't be for much longer."

"You COWARD!" Rainbow screamed. "Show your face, why don'tcha!"

"If you think I'm a coward, that's your business. In a few moments, it won't matter. Nothing will."

The Blackguard's eye flashed one more time, and the ponies were suddenly exhausted. They stayed on their feet for a moment, but even that was fleeting. Some sprawled out on the ground, others managed to keep at least one of their hooves on the ground, but all were too drained to launch another attack.

"Now...it's time for me to FINISH YOU!"

Twilight braced herself for impact. Five dark red masses appeared above her and her friends. These masses looked somewhat similar to the mass of energy that Spike used when he nuked a battlefield. Feeling a bit of deja vu, she tried to stand back up, to fight back.

Suddenly, everything seemed to stop. In fact, everything DID stop--except for Twilight. No longer feeling exhausted, she took a quick look around. Everything around her was completely still and completely silent.

"I've been waiting for you."

Twilight's eyes widened, and her irises shrunk to the size of pinpricks. "Igor?!"

The darkness around the battlefield, the darkness that was so impervious, began to disperse around Twilight. In its place was the blue interior of a chariot. Igor and Margaret sat in their usual places, a trademark mysterious smile on the former's face.

"What's happening?" Twilight asked. "Why am I here?"

"Did I not tell you before?" Igor opened his eyes and looked into Twilight's. "Most of the time, we are unable to assist you directly. However, when times are dire and there is no other way, we can intervene. In the end, it is still up to you to overcome the trials set before you, but we are allowed to assist with that."

A spectral image of Star Swirl appeared above the table. A Tarot card appeared behind him, but it was gone before Twilight could see what it was. Star Swirl's eyes flashed with understanding.

"I'm afraid that is all we can do...but I think you might find that it is just enough." Igor's smile widened. "Good luck to you, most faithful of guests."

The Velvet Room began to fade back into darkness. Twilight's eyes widened. "Wait! Hold--what did you--"

Time suddenly resumed around Twilight as she found herself back on the battlefield. The red masses above the group each launched a single orb. They slowly descended towards the ground.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow yelled. "Do you think you can do that shield thing you did when we fought Margaret?!"

"I-I can try!" Pinkie replied.

As the red orbs descended, Love Bubble fluttered her wings rapidly for a moment. Flickering pink bubbles with a few red hearts placed on them enveloped the group just as the red orbs impacted. The orbs exploded violently. Though the ponies weren't affected by the attack, the bubbles shattered once it was over, and Pinkie just barely stayed conscious.

Twilight managed to get on her hooves again, despite the exhaustion from before returning. Star Swirl floated above her, a harsh glare on his face. Though Twilight wasn't sure what would happen, she knew she had nothing to lose. She wasn't sure how, but she felt the presence of another ability in her mind. Without any further hesitation, she gave Star Swirl a mental command to use it. He lifted his staff. As it glowed, it let loose a glowing sphere, which began to drop bits of light like a sprinkler. As if the light were drops of rain hitting the ground, each one rippled across the darkness as it landed. Where the ripples spread, the darkness finally began to recede--and this time, it wasn't just in Twilight's mind. Black turned to yellow, and the Shadow's original form was there, its yellow eye filled with rage.

"HOW?!" the Blackguard demanded. "That's IMPOSSIBLE! There's no way you could have pulled that off!"

"To be honest..." Twilight pointed with her hoof at the Blackguard, and Star Swirl mimicked the motion with his staff. "I don't even know how I did it myself!"

The fog began to change color again. However, this time, it didn't grow darker--it simply changed to a deep blue, like the night sky. In the distance, a white streak lit up the sky that looked just like a shooting star. However, it didn't fade into the sky or the distance. Instead, it gradually slowed down as it flew. It suddenly turned in the air, flying at unimaginable speeds towards the Blackguard and growing into a massive ball of energy. By the time the Blackguard reacted, it was too late. The ball slammed directly into it, and after it slammed the Shadow into the ground, it exploded violently, blinding everyone present.

When the dust cleared, there was a massive crater where the battle had taken place. The ponies were still weary and still wounded, but the Blackguard was much worse for wear. Where she had been, there was no longer a humanoid or even a pony. It had turned into a puddle of black sludge, just like any other Shadow. A mask lay on top of it, its empty eyes looking at the group.

"It's...over," the Blackguard said after a full minute of silence. It let out a weary laugh. "This is where I disappear..."

"That should teach you," Spike said with a smirk. "You never stood a chance. You were outclassed from the beginning."

The sludge shuddered slightly as the Blackguard let out another laugh. "Honestly...you're all such naive brats." The mask almost seemed to smile, even with its rigid features. "Don't you understand...you brought this fate upon yourselves?"

"What're ya talkin' about?" Applejack asked. "Pretty sure we just stopped ya from carryin' out yer crazy plan."

"Yes...you stopped me. There may be others..." The sludge puddle started to shrink, and the mask began to turn to dust. "...and if you had not tried to save anyone, they wouldn't be able to do anything."

"H-hey!" Rainbow flew over to the Shadow. "You can't die yet, you scumbag! You're gonna face the music and accept your punishment!"

The Shadow let out one final laugh. "Enjoy the time you have left...but you're slaves to the fate that you made for yourselves. You can't fight it for long...that's your desssstinyyyy..."

With that, the puddle receded and faded to nothing. The final bit of the mask crumbled and blew away in an unseen wind.

There was a long period of silence. Glances were exchanged all around as the ponies processed what just happened.

"Well...I guess that means the case is over," Fluttershy said.

"Y-yeah...yeah, yer right. Ah don't care about some dyin' monster's crazy ramblin'." Applejack smiled. "Far as Ah'm concerned, this is victory!"

"Not a total victory, though," Rarity pointed out. "The culprit disintegrated...we have no one to turn in to Officer Looking Glass. And...with no one to turn in..."

"Hmm...we can't exactly tell anypony that it was a Shadow that did it, either..." Rainbow averted her eyes from the others. "So...what do we do, then?"

"There's really only one way things can progress now," Twilight said. "We just wait until it all tides over. The murders and the kidnappings will stop, and if they have too much trouble finding the perpetrator, they'll eventually just go home."

"So...it's a victory, but only for us," Spike said with a heavy sigh.

"Hey, cheer up!" Pinkie said. She bounced into the center of the group, a big smile on her face. "It's all over! We won! Isn't that good enough?"

"Well...yeah, I guess so."

Suddenly, Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Oh, no! We forgot about Time Turner!"

Everyone turned around and ran over to the second group. By now, several of them had regained consciousness--only Vinyl and Derpy were still out of commission, and they looked much more serene, as if they were just sleeping off the beating they had gotten. Time Turner smiled at them as they approached. "You did a good job. I never would have guessed you had the ability to disperse that darkness--that's how she got the upper hand on us."

"I wouldn't have guessed it either," Twilight replied. "I still don't know what that was."

"I do," Bon Bon said. She smiled knowingly. "That was a spell that disrupts and removes any positive alterations that the target may have. Lyra actually has a skill like that, but yours was...more potent, somehow."

"And that dispelled the darkness around us?"

"That was never real darkness. It was an extension of the Shadow's body--that's what Pinkie was sensing before. It was a positive alteration, so the spell got rid of it."

"Well, enough about that!" Rainbow yelled. "Are you all right?"

"Just fine," Lyra said. "Tavi has been healing us bit by bit."

"I told you not to call me that," Octavia said with a bitter look in her eyes. "But...yes. I had too little energy to heal you all at once, so doing it in smaller increments was a necessity...and I still haven't gotten to Vinyl and Derpy yet."

"Worry not," Rarity said. "We'll handle that."

Ace of Spades and Sekhmet floated gently over to Vinyl and Derpy, respectively. Ace of Spades laid a gentle hand on Vinyl's stomach, and Sekhmet's eyes glowed with a pleasant warmth. The scrapes and bruises on their bodies disappeared, and both awoke from their slumber.

"All right, now let's get out of here," Twilight said. "We're all pretty worn out, and I don't want to get attacked by Shadows."

"I concur," Time Turner replied. "Let's make haste, ladies." He and his group got to their hooves, and everyone started walking towards the exit.

Despite the fact that what the Blackguard said as it was dying probably was just what Applejack said it was--crazy ramblings--Twilight couldn't help but dwell on it. It had said they were slaves to their fate--the fate that they had brought about themselves. Today had definitely been a great victory, but those words kept gnawing at Twilight's mind...and she knew that they would for quite a while longer.

Author's Note:

With this chapter, we've crossed the 100,000 word mark, along with the 50 likes milestone. I'm overjoyed that this story has come so far. We're certainly on the final stretch by now, but there's still plenty more to tell!

I know, I took way too long on this. I'll be going a lot faster now--there were a few delays on this one. I expect that the story will be complete before the first of the year.

---

Star Swirl
-Maragidyne
-Maziodyne
-Magarudyne
-Mabufudyne
-Matarukaja
-Marakunda
-Mind Charge
-North Star
-Dekaja(?)

Comments

[shinigamisparda]

So, we doing alternate endings, or just forging ahead?

[EricStarstorm]

5153419 That's...actually something I never considered. Now that you bring it up, I might just do that.

[Aliucon]

I can really just say "very aptly done" for this. Anything else doesn't quite communicate my thoughts on this fic. Overall, after reading it through, I liked it as a fun little adventure showcasing several of Persona 4's endearing aspects with something of an Equestrian skin (and your own small spin to it). And, well, you knew enough of the source material of both worlds to have it make sense, and the writing itself was decent, so what more can one ask for? If it were to end on this note, I'd actually have a few problems to mention, but I rather not judge that final battle until I see the aftermath. I can speak a bit more about the rest of the story, though.

I really liked your pacing, trying to accomplish something with every scene presented, be them full of exposition or just transitions to more important events. I can't quite say the same for certain scenes in the other world, when sometimes there seemed to be fights for fighting's sake, especially when Time Turner's group was presented. But this is why I said this was a "fun adventure". As a fan of the Persona games, I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the fights and moves used, and there's no question about the fights against the Shadows selves being way better in this regard, since even a non-Persona fan would be grasping some sort of increase in difficulty and stakes with each passing Shadow based on what they could do (I particularly feel Shadow Spike and Shadow Pinkie were the best in this). So, props for that.

Also regarding pacing, this story has a very reasonable word count. It might be daunting to people trying to get into the fic right now, but as far as any writing works go, it is pretty good. It doesn't feel too stale, anyway... unless you're not planning to explain that last part of the last fight, in which case several scenes from the story itself, namely the Social Links, are severely weakened to non-Persona fans. But this is still not over, so, I shouldn't even be bringing this up in the first place...

This is a bit less interesting character-wise. Don't get me wrong, I thought the way you handled Fluttershy was a stroke of genius, as well as Celestia and Luna's short appearances, but I had some gripes with the Shadows of Rarity and Applejack, which seemed to be rooted more on plot contriving (Spike for Rarity and Apple Bloom for Applejack) than their actual selves. It sort of bothers me because I think you were addressing real issues of these characters and only using these secondary characters as catalysts, but that doesn't come out very well in the way they were written, I feel. Furthermore, while you do a good job with keeping everyone in character or at least talking like themselves, this suffers during a lot of the exposition parts.

Speaking of which, exposition has a place and time, and it's definitely NOT in the chapter when what seems to be the last battle will take place. The "final boss" shouldn't have to randomly say "It's rare, but sometimes Shadows get egos of their own" out of nowhere. Sure, we KNOW that Shadows can develop egos, but that's only if you played or watched either Persona 3 or 4 before. When was this built up in the story? But nonetheless, I remember exposition through the rest of the story being better handled than this, so this is probably just nit-picky of my part. You still get credit for putting a lot of the important information of the P4 universe through writing and presenting it in gradual increments, which is awesome.

Here's something that's not just nit-picky, though. As cool as it was, what was the point of presenting Shining Armor and Cadence as privy to the knowledge of that world, when he doesn't appear anywhere else? Time Turner's group also seemed pretty pointless, despite showing up for the final battle and having a cool battle outing of their own. I guess Time Turner helped with Fluttershy, but he didn't need to be an active character in the story to do that. They seemed to have accomplished very little. And yet, I don't dismerit you. It was pretty fun to see Bon Bon, Lyra and the others having Personae as well, as was hearing of Shining Armor having one matching Twilight's. Which, I guess, brings me back to the point that this was a fun adventure. Which it really was.

The final thing I had to say was about the villain. While I understand this is not over and some further development might upset how I understand things now (and I'm assuming it will, because her line "I awoke with only one thought on my mind" seems to imply this Shadow was spawned willingly by a deity of some sort), I'll judge them on their own merit for now. This villain just felt... incredibly weak? Not fighting-wise, no. But they were not quite built up to, and their motivation is contradictory. A Shadow's normal motivation is to merge with other Shadows. We learn this in Persona 3 and it just makes sense, given who Shadows are a part of. Since Shadows can't move about normally in the real world, a particularly cunning or powerful Shadow would normally attempt to merge both worlds, so give free reign to her fellow Shadows and further fuse with the ponies' Shadows. A Shadow with an ego, however, is another story. They developed something beyond the collective, an individuality. Why, then, would a Shadow with an ego be trying to merge both worlds? It's not only because they want access to that world, because this particular Shadow can move around in it: Rainbow even saw her in Ponyville. Why. then? What do they have to gain? Are they just being controlled by a higher entity or Shadow? If so, why do they even HAVE an ego? It's fine to leave some questions open for people to fill in the blanks, but I just feel there wasn't enough information for people to think over or even care.

Wow, sorry, I wrote a bit too much. Let me wrap it up. I could argue against keeping the formula so similar to Persona 4, but it undoubtedly works. Ponyville is much like Inaba in some ways, so the general setting could be replicated naturally. And you did a very competent job at it. Moreover, you added some stuff of your own, it was fun to see which Persona the characters were getting, Igor and Margaret were a bit too exposition-y but still retained their character, and overall, this deserves a couple hundred thousand more views for all the work you've been putting on making an enjoyable, fun crossover. Very good job there. This was really nice to read!

Now to wait for Personas of Harmony: Arena. *shot*

Keep up the good work!

[Jlargent]

"Well...this is going to sound strange, but...it's been bugging me for a while now..." Igor didn't respond. Twilight waited for a moment to see if he would, but he was just listening. "...Who's pulling this chariot?"

Isn't it obvious? Theodore is the one driving.