Ponysona

by Jubby

The Mysterious Mare

The marketplace was buzzing with activity despite the humidity. Sweaty ponies were spending their hard-earned bits on this week’s necessities and frivolities. It was difficult for Twilight Sparkle not to bump into other ponies and even more so for Fluttershy. Every time the pegasus bumped into somepony, she let out a loud squeak that attracted the attention of all the ponies near her.

“Fluttershy, you don’t need to be so worried about bumping into other ponies. They don’t mind it all that much.”

“I know, but I’m just so… shy…” she whispered.

“I think I know that, Fluttershy. Let’s just get that last thing you needed. What was it again?”

“I think it was cherries. Wait! No, it was strawberries! No, no, no, cherries. Strawberries? I don’t know.”

Twilight let out a deep sigh, “Fluttershy, you really need to remember to bring a shopping list with you when running errands. How else are you going to know that you got everything? I’d go nuts if I didn’t know I’d done everything I had to do.” Helping Fluttershy with her shopping would be difficult, but she’d managed to find everything her friend was looking for so far and she wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.

o.0.o

“You were looking for leeks? How is that even similar to cherries, strawberries, bananas, oranges, really none of the things you said at first?”

“Well, they’re all really healthy…”

“Cookie dough is not healthy and you came up with that too.”

“Oh…”

“This could have been a lot easier if you just wrote everything down.”

“You’re right. I do need to take more care from now on. I’m sorry,” she whimpered.

“Don’t apologize. Anyways, I need to head back to the library. I have a checklist to make for tomorrow.”

Twilight turned in the direction of her home. Fluttershy could be so forgetful at times. It baffled Twilight how her friend could be such a great caretaker if she couldn’t keep herself organized. I guess I’ll just have to help her like all the other ponies around here, she mused to herself, feeding her ego. She giggled at the idea of more ponies needing her. Now let’s see what else I have to do today: make a checklist of this week’s chores, clean the library, pick up a nice gem for Spi… Her thoughts trailed off as she found herself staring at a unicorn from across the marketplace.

Her coat was a dark, majestic purple with black circles spattered randomly about her body and her mane was a light gray. She wore a hat that matched her coat to a tee. On her flank was a brown circle that contained a six pointed star, also brown. “What kind of Cutie Mark is that?” Twilight Sparkle thought aloud.

The mare snapped her head across the crowd and stared directly at Twilight. Her eyes blazed a fierce golden. She mouthed, ‘You,’ before trotting off into the crowd.

“Who was that?” Twilight thought aloud once more.

A familiar high-pitch voice sprang up from behind her, “I don’t even know!”

Twilight jumped.

“Pinkie!” she exclaimed in shock, “Don’t pop up like that, you’ll give me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, Twilight. I thought you were used to me doing that by now.”

“I don’t think anypony can ever get used to that, Pinkie. But let’s get back to the topic on hoof. Don’t you know everypony in Ponyville?

“Yeah!” she shouted, “But not her…” Pinkie’s head slid down and her eyes began to tear up. She wasn’t used to being ignored and the lack of attention was obviously getting to her.

“How come you don’t know her?”

“Well I saw her, tried to introduce myself, and I sang a random song out of nowhere… but we didn’t become instant best friends. She was talking to herself about something. She didn’t even hear me shoot my party cannon!” She tried to pick her head up, but it drooped downwards in disappointment once more, “I guess we can’t be friends…”

“I’m sure she was just busy. Talk to her another time and she’ll come around.”

“Yeah! Everypony wants to be my friend! In fact, I wrote a song about it. Wanna hear it, Twilight?”

“N-no thank you, Pinkie. I have to head home.”

“I’ll see you around town then!” the pink pony said before bouncing away from her friend.

o.0.o

Twilight walked over to the stairs of the library. She desperately needed sleep; something about the day’s events had tired her out more than usual.

“I’m turning in Spike. You should too. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” Spike opened his mouth to protest, but he didn’t say anything. Twilight was glaring at him furiously; she was not ready to handle his whining. She trotted up the stairs and her assistant reluctantly followed suit.

Her encounter with the purple unicorn earlier that day had set her on edge and she had yet to recover. The fact that Pinkie didn’t even know the newcomer’s name was disconcerting enough, but the way the mare had made eye contact with her from across the marketplace freaked her out. To make it even stranger, that pony knew who she had been looking at. She had to have known. Why else would she have mouthed, ‘You?’

Twilight turned off the lights in the bedroom and scrunched up under the covers. She couldn’t seem to find a comfortable position no matter which way she rolled. It’s alright, Twilight. You’re getting worked up over nothing. That was absolutely nothing, she reassured herself. She turned over on her side. Just take a few deep breaths and you’ll be fine.

She closed her eyes and began breathing rhythmically.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In…

o.0.o

Her hooves met solid ground. She immediately opened her eyelids and found herself in a grand library, far larger than any she had seen. It would put the Royal Canterlot Library to shame. The floor was covered in velvet, as were the shelves. Books that had to be at least a thousand years old lined those shelves. Somewhere, a blue light lit the whole building. Her head turned to the windows lining the walls, but no light seemed to be coming in from them at all. In fact, she couldn’t make out anything through the windows; a thick fog blocked the view.

She turned around and saw a librarian’s desk. Behind it, in a grand chair that was almost a throne sat an ancient-looking colt. The Earth Pony’s mane was black except for a v-shaped block of white that ran from his chin to his chest. What little that was left of his mane was stark white just like the patch on his coat. Bloodshot eyes looked just about ready to leap from their sockets. His most astounding feature though was the length of his snout. Twilight had never seen anything like it and her mouth fell agape.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle, I’m glad you came to visit me.” His voice was shrill, but strangely calming. “I see you and my nose have met. It’s always happy to make new friends.”

“Where am I?”

The ancient colt’s mouth unfurled into a large smile, “You’re at the crossroads between consciousness and unconsciousness.”

“Where?!”

“The Velvet Room, my dear. You have come here for a reason. What is it?”

“I don’t know! Shouldn’t you be the one telling me these things?”

“You’re so flustered. I’d hope I’d have you when you were calmer.”

“Flustered? Of course I’m flustered! I have no idea where I am and I’m being asked strange questions that I don’t know the answer to!”

“Well you are the first one here.”

“What does that mean?”

The colt sighed, “I do hope you manage. I’m afraid I just cannot help you at this moment. Please do come back though.”

o.0.o

“What do you mean by that?” she screamed. She was sitting up in her bed with her sheets held in between her front hooves. Her eyes darted left and right; Twilight was back in her bed. Spike was opening the curtains to let the morning light in. “Oh, Spike, I had the strangest dream last night.”

“Hm.”

“Can I tell you about it?”

“Sorry, Twi, but I’ve got a lot of work to do. Maybe later.” He picked up a sac next to his bed and walked out of the room.

“What does Spike have to do that doesn’t involve me? Is he trying to sneak away to Rarity’s or something? She doesn’t even like him like that. Oh well,” she sighed, “I guess I’ll just go and run my errands on my own.”

o.0.o

Twilight walked into Sugarcube Corner to find it seemingly deserted. There were cupcake wrappers all over the ground and none of the treats in the display case had been rotated from yesterday's batch. One cherry pie seemed to be rotting.

She rang the desk bell hoping to get someone’s attention, “Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Pinkie? Is anyone in here?” There was no answer.

She rang the bell once more and received the same reply.

Twilight sighed and walked out. This hadn’t been the first place to be empty.

o.0.o

The stalls were empty. All the stalls at the marketplace were empty. Ponies were milling about as normal, but nopony was shopping. Nopony even seemed to notice that the shopkeepers were gone and that the shops themselves were bare and free of merchandise.

Twilight stayed in the crowd for about ten minutes but she couldn’t find her friends or Spike. Or the unicorn from yesterday. She hadn’t even bumped into a single pony like she had the day before.

o.0.o

Twilight slowly approached Rarity’s boutique and knocked on the door. She was praying to Celestia that Rarity or Sweetie Belle were home and knew where Spike was.

There was an answer, but Rarity didn’t open the door, “Hello? Who is this? I’m very busy right now.”

“It’s Twilight Sparkle. I was wondering if you’d seen Spike around.”

There was no answer for several seconds. She almost sounded hesitant at first but her voice equalized quickly, “I haven’t seen him. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have several important orders to finish today.”

Before she had a chance to speak, Twilight heard Rarity trot away from her door.

Twilight drew in a sharp breath of the cool, crisp air around her. For such a strange day, the weather had been beautiful.

She gave up and walked home. Her chores would have to wait for another day and for some reason she was horribly exhausted yet again. Twilight felt strangely nervous as she approached her house. These past few days were far more unusual than any of her other experiences in Ponyville.

o.0.o

Twilight once more found herself rolling under her sheets. No matter what position she was in, she was uncomfortable.

Why didn’t anypony want to talk to me today?

Take a deep breath.

Where were the shopkeepers?

In.

Why wouldn’t Rarity open her door?

Out.

Why isn’t Spike home yet?

In.

Shouldn’t anypony have noticed that the stalls were empty?

The clock ticked loudly.

It was nearly midnight. “11:58? I need to sleep.”

She didn’t. Instead she found herself staring at the clock. She stared at the second hand as it slowly ticked away once, twice, thrice, ten seconds, thirty seconds, sixty seconds, ninety seconds, midnight.

The air went chill.

The clock had frozen. The second hand was no longer moving at all. Twilight leapt out of bed to find the wooden floor to be rock hard. She opened the curtains so she could look out the window.

The moon was green. The sky was red.

She backed away from the window slowly. What’s going on here? “Spike? Are you here?” No answer. She was alone in the library.

Calm down, Twilight. You’re probably just having a crazy dream like last night. Yeah. That’s the only rational explanation.

She kept stepping backwards. She wanted to go outside and get some fresh air. Fresh air would help her head. It would help. Fresh air always did.

Her hoof was wet. She was stepping in something wet. She looked behind her to see what it was. Black ooze. Black ooze was coming up through the floor.

Twilight squeaked. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t muster it. She looked up from the floor. More black ooze was coming out of the walls. She ran, darted down the stairs and out of the house. Before leaving the building, she dared one look back. The black ooze had coagulated and was following her down the stairs.

Run.

I am.

Faster.

I can’t.

The ground shook and Twilight tripped. She stood back up and looked in the direction of the tree house. The black mass had escaped and it was slowly taking form. Arms were popping out of its back one at a time. The ends slowly separated into fingers.

Her breathing became ragged. She couldn’t control herself in the sight of this monster.

The arms reached into the mass and pulled out ornate swords.

Those were the kind the Unicorns used to use in ritualistic sacrifices. Her eyes widened in anticipation of what would happen if she didn't run.

She tried to scream once more. Perhaps if somepony heard her, they would save her. She closed her eyes and took in as much air as her lungs could hold before shouting. She couldn’t even manage a squeak this time.

Her eyes opened. There had to have been at least a hundred arms coming out of the ooze and almost all of them were holding a sword. All but one.

She fixated on that last arm: the arm holding the expressionless, blue mask.

She wanted to run, but she couldn’t anymore. Her legs wouldn’t obey her.

Twilight closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

An arm was raising high above her; she could hear it.

“I art thou, and thou art I.”

Her eyes sprang open, “Who said that?”

She received no answer.

She looked at the black ooze. It had stopped for a few seconds, but it was now continuing its assault.

From far behind her, she heard somepony shout, “Evoke him!”

Evoke.

Twilight closed her eyes delicately. She was not going to die.

Her legs finally followed her commands. She spread out into a defensive stance and slowly whispered to herself, “Persona.”

She opened her eyes and found herself grinning. The power flowing through her was intoxicating. This power… This power is mine.

The ooze was receding from her. It was afraid. Afraid of her. No. It was afraid of what she had unleashed.

“My Persona.”

She turned around to take a good look at it. It was tall. And whatever it was, it was most certainly not a pony or any other creature she had seen before. It stood on two legs with its hands placed on its midsection. Black and white stripes raced vertically down its body. It was wearing the same mask the shadow had held but this mask had a sunny smile on it. It raised one foot and took a step forward. Long black boots ran past its knees.

“I art thou, and thou art I.”

“I see,” she gleefully responded.

Twilight followed its lead and walked closer to the ooze.

“Give me thy command and I shall slay the Shadow.”

Twilight hesitated. Slay?

“It is what must be done.”

She lifted her hoof up and as it slammed to the ground, screamed, “Hama!”

The creature flew upwards and extended its arms outwards. A bright light shone from it.

The black ooze first began hissing but as the light reached it, it screamed. Cards quickly rose from the ground around it. The light grew brighter as the ooze’s screams grew louder. Then the cards flew at its skin and the screaming ceased. The thing had completely disappeared, except for its mask.

Twilight approached it and put her hoof on it. Stone cold.

She turned around to see her Persona, but it was gone. In its place stood the Unicorn from the marketplace. They looked directly into each others’ eyes once more, fierce golden eyes meeting Twilight’s bright purple.

The unicorn didn’t mouth her words this time. Instead, she spoke aloud, “This is perfect.”

Comments

[darthrex]

which persona is this most based on

[darthrex]

which persona game is this most based on. (also which is your favorite)

[shylock]

Yes. Yes. Yes! YES! YEEEES!!!

[TundraStanza]

I see traces of Persona 3 in here, though the idea of her friends giving Twilight the cold shoulder is new to me.
I'll keep an eye on this.

[Jubby]

847041 It's based on a combination of Persona 3 and 4. I've only really played 4, so that's my favorite.

[Max Aravaras]

Instant thumbs-up, favorite, and comment. Persona is awesome.

I see you're going with Persona 3 for this fic, I look forward to how you're going to get Tartarus and...a few other things in there(coughcoughApathySyndromecoughcough). I'll be watching. To the rest of you(BUY THE GAME), it highly resembles Persona 3, and I don't think it resembles any other one at all. /neverplayed4

I do like where this is going, though I have one complaint; which Persona does Twilight have? I've thought about which it could be, but I couldn't think of one that fits the description. Mysterious.

Anyway, onto an actual review. It's well-written, I love the way you interpreted the Dark Hour, and Hama was pretty awesome too. A few things were off, like "evoke him!" which is off, because an "Evoker" is a(fake)gun used by SEES to summon Persona, by "shooting" themselves in the head, and is not an actual command. But if you meant the mysterious voice to be advising Twi to Summon her Persona, then there's a little bit more conflict. Persona are usually, if not all the time, restricted to the gender of the user, with the exception of the Wild Card(Main Character/You), who can wield any Persona he/she chooses. But all original Persona are matching with gender, except Naoto Shirogane of Persona 4, and this was because Naoto was disguised as a male in the story, an "inside joke" that Naoto was originally planned to be male(Naoto is female, her persona is male). Also odd that since she can stay awake during the Dark Hour, she has "potential"(The potential to summon a Persona). Usually, that means Shadows stay away from her, rather than seek her out. Peo-err, Ponies without potential get attacked if they are conscious during the Dark Hour. People who aren't conscious are transmogrified into coffins until the hour passes, keeping them safe and oblivious to it ever occurring.

Anyway, I do like it. Some of your choices in writing were odd, but they don't distract from the overall experience. I do like it nonetheless, and as I said, I'll be watching this.

[FLUTTERPIEROXS]

What is going on???

[Max Aravaras]

847273 Just...it'll explain itself. I would hate to ruin it for people who are new to Persona.
847140 Wait, so Twilight is going to start jumping into TV's? XP

[Jubby]

847292 Not necessarily, but I'm more familiar with Persona 4 so most of the events will be more similar to it.

847273 Well when a mommy pony and a daddy pony fall in love...

[Digit]

...
*tracked*
*thumbed*
*following*

[Jlargent]

I preordered the anime I CAN'T WAIT!