The Foolish Magician
In the distance a piano played. As each note was slowly and carefully drawn out of the instrument, a woman would sing along with it. She never formed words though; she only sang the notes as if her voice was another instrument.
"I'm glad you returned Ms. Sparkle," said the ancient Earth Pony sitting across from Twilight.
"Where is that music coming from?" she wondered. She could only see shelves wherever she looked. It seemed that if there was an open space, a shelf was there. Everywhere, except for the desk she was sitting at now.
"My assistants Theodore and Margaret are playing. They're quite the masters at their craft."
"Theodore and Margaret? So you have a name too?"
"Sly little pony, aren't you?" He cackled for a few seconds before regaining his composure, "Yes. My name is Igor. I will be aiding you through your journey."
"Journey? I'm going somewhere?" Twilight shifted in her seat. Something about this room gave her the chills.
"Perhaps. As far as I know, you'll be staying in Ponyville. And not in Ponyville. But my foresight has weakened over the years. I cannot help you much with your future, but I can help you now. Soon."
"How?"
The singer stopped. There were clicks on the floor far away.
"In the time to come, I can aid you with your Persona."
o.0.o
"Persona?" Twilight had never heard the word in that context before. A persona was figurative, not literal. The purple Unicorn with the golden eyes let out a sigh. She seemed disappointed with Twilight. "Well I've never read about anything like that. There's very little I haven't read about, so it just seems sort of..."
"Flustered."
"Huh?"
"Stop being flustered."
"What?” Twilight became angry with the other pony’s sudden request, “How can I not be flustered? I was almost killed and now you're speaking nonsense at me!"
"Sorry."
Twilight kicked at the dirt beneath her hoof. She couldn’t believe she had just screamed at somepony she just met. She wasn't sure whether she was supposed to speak now or if the other pony was just regaining her composure. Twilight waited for a few more moments before deciding to speak up, "Tell me more about this 'Persona' thing."
The Unicorn's lips grew into a wide smile, "It is you. Your Persona is your own power manifested."
Twilight's head tilted to the side, "'My own power manifested?' Like my magic?"
"No. Not at all. You can't even use your magic right now."
"I can't? What do you mean?"
"Try."
Twilight's horn began to glow. She had to see whether or not she had been told the truth. Magic can't just disappear like that. It can't. Right? Her horn glowed and sparks flew out, but she couldn't cast any spells or even manage to lift a pebble.
"I can't use my magic..."
"But you can use your Persona and its magic,” the Unicorn licked her lips at the thought. It was as if she enjoyed the thought of a Persona fighting.
Twilight pretended to not have noticed, "What exactly is my Persona? It certainly doesn't look like me, so how could it be me?"
"It is Hyperion.
"Hyperion?"
The unicorn said it much slower this time, savoring the name, "Hyperion."
o.0.o
"Bon Bon!"
"Hold on a moment, I need to catch my breath."
Lyra trotted to the tree Bon Bon was leaning against.
Bon Bon looked up at Lyra, "Why are you so smiley, Missy?"
"You just look so funny like that!"
"Well excuse me! You're the one who's making me walk so far uphill at night."
"I just needed you to see this with me," Lyra sat down next to Bon Bon, "You'll love it! If you can manage to make it in time."
"I won't be too long, I'm not that old."
"You're a lot older than me."
"Get closer so I can hit you."
Lyra stood up and started bouncing away from Bon Bon. "Come on, we only have a few minutes left."
Bon Bon took a deep breath in and sprinted to catch up to Lyra.
"Look, the hill's about to crest!"
"Does this mean we can stop walking?"
"Of course!"
The cream Earth Pony started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Lyra walked back to where Bon Bon had stopped.
"This is," she explained as she hit Lyra on the top of her head.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?"
In between laughs she managed to say, "You never call a mare old."
"Alright, I won't anymore. Yeesh, that really hurt," Lyra turned around to look at the crest of the hill, "Come on Bon Bon, you'll be able to see the meteor shower best at the very top of the hill."
Bon Bon had stopped laughing. Lyra turned around to see if she was okay.
"Bon Bon, why did you... Bon Bon?"
She was frozen mid-laugh.
o.0.o
"That 'freezing' you refer to is the Dark Hour, Ms. Sparkle."
"So it has a name?"
"Everything does. Even your Persona does."
"Hyperion?"
"Yes,” Igor unclasped his hooves and placed one on the desk in front of him. “I'm a little surprised you know his name."
"Oh! I read about him in a book. Mythological figure and all..."
"A book?"
o.0.o
"Yes. That's where you found out about him,” the Unicorn instructed.
"But why would I lie?" Twilight hated lying. She would need a very good reason to ever do so.
"Safety."
“Safety? Safety from what exactly?”
“Him.”
o.0.o
“I see,” Igor took a long pause before continuing, “Your Persona is a very powerful one. I knew somepony with the same Persona at one time. Hyperion looked much different at the time though. I didn’t know Personae could change so drastically, but I don’t know a lot about how Equestria functions.” He snickered at the joke that only he understood. Twilight Sparkle let out a quick laugh to keep the situation from becoming awkward.
“So, uh… what do you mean you don’t know much about how Equestria works?”
He snickered again. This conversation must have been hilarious to him. “I’m not from here. The rules are very different and I’m barely learning them any faster than you are,” he wouldn’t stop cackling at that thought.
“What are the rules exactly?” Twilight asked. She wanted to keep the conversation moving.
“Let’s start with The Dark Hour.”
o.0.o
Why did it get so much darker all of a sudden?
“Bon Bon, stop that. It isn’t funny.” Lyra’s voice was quivering, “Please... I’m scared.”
She looked up at the now green sky and blood red moon. This isn’t right. This isn’t what I wanted to show you. Her horn began to glow, “Bon Bon, wake up!”
Sparks flew at her companion and bounced off of her cream coat. Lyra put her hoof on the pony.
“You’re stone cold…”
“Just like you.”
Lyra turned around and saw a pony hidden in the shadows of the tree where Bon Bon had been a few moments ago.
“Who are you?” she screamed in fright.
Its voice was cold and almost robotic, “I’m you.”
o.0.o
“You need to be careful around him.”
“Who is ‘Him’ though?”
“Igor…” The mare sat down and shuddered after saying the name.
“Why do I have to be so careful? What has he done?”
“I… can’t say.”
“Did he hurt you?”
Twilight saw the other unicorn beginning to cry.
“I have to go.”
“Why?”
“Look at the moon, and you’ll know.”
Twilight tilted her head up to see the red fading into white.
“I don’t see why that matters,” she brought her head back down to where the mare had been before, but she was now gone, “Of course. Mysterious disappearance. Why did I not see this happening ahead of time?”
o.0.o
“I did not see it happen fully myself, but my assistant, Margaret, told me much about what she learned of the Dark Hour and I would trust her with any knowledge.”
“What did she tell you?”
“Well, it appears the Dark Hour is the only time ponies can summon their Persona. There were exceptions where I came from. On the topic of actually summoning your Persona though, you do that differently too. You’re supposed to evoke them...”
“But I did.”
“I wasn’t finished. You’re supposed to evoke them by mocking suicide. You just… summon them. Easily. I’ve never seen anything like it outside of Mayonaka. But there was one more thing that truly surprised me; both you and the other one have Personae that don’t match your gender. It’s almost unheard of.”
Her head tilted to the right. She thought she was the only pony with a Persona, “Other one?”
“Hm? Did I forget to mention you weren’t the first? Well you weren’t. You came upon your Persona about a month after her. In fact, she was a Unicorn just like you.”
“She was?”
“Yes, but she did not come upon her Persona like you… I’m not entirely sure how exactly one is supposed to come across their Persona in this land.”
“I see… So how did she do it?”
“It’s quite an interesting story, actually.”
o.0.o
“You’re… me? No. I’m me.”
“I am you. And I know everything about you.” The pony stepped out from underneath the tree. Her aquamarine coat matched her mane with the single white highlight sticking out like a sore hoof. She looked exactly like Lyra, except for her sickeningly yellow eyes. “I even know how you feel about Bon Bon.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“It’s just so unnatural though. A mare can’t love another mare. It’s not right. And besides she probably doesn’t even like you anyways.”
“Shut up!”
“I mean, she’s just so mature and you’re so childish. Why does she even hang out with you anyways? She must just feels sorry for you.”
“No! We’re great friends...” Lyra’s eyes were tearing up.
“I’m just not good enough for her. I’ll never be.”
“You’re wrong! That’s not how I feel at all… YOU’RE NOT ME!”
The second Lyra let out a cackle as black ooze seeped up from the ground around her.
“What are you doing? Stop it!”
The ooze slowly crept up the laughing pony’s legs. It was coating her from head to toe. She stopped laughing for a moment and stared deep into Lyra’s eyes.
Lyra attempted to blink back the tears forming in her eyes, “You can’t be me.”
The pony bellowed with baritone laughter. Her voice, now much higher than it had once been, seemed to be trying to pierce Lyra’s eardrums and make them bleed, “I am a Shadow, the true self.”
o.0.o
“Why are you stopping?”
“Well I don’t know much more other than that she summoned her Persona then.”
“Is she still alive?”
“I would assume so. Personae are a very strong force of nature.”
“What’s her name?”
“Margaret didn’t find out. She only saw a blue Unicorn summon a Persona of the Magician Arcana.”
“Arcana? Like tarot cards?”
“I’d love to talk more, but the Dark Hour draws to its close. I’ll leave you with one last piece of advice: help everypony and you may be able to save them all.”
o.0.o
“Wait! I still have so many questions!” She turned her head left and right, “I’m back home again... How does he do that?”
She gingerly felt the floor of the house. Soft, as soft as wood should be.
“So that’s only during the Dark Hour.”
She walked over to the window and drew the curtains back. The gibbous moon was shining a bright white in contrast with the black night sky. The light from the moon hit Spike’s face and woke him up. He opened his eyes and looked at Twilight. “Twi, what are you doing?”
“I just wanted to look at the sky for a little.”
“That’s nice,” the dragon yawned, “Can you close the curtains? I want to sleep.”
“Sure, Spike.” She let the curtains fall back in place and walked over to her to-do list for the next day. She picked up a quill, dipped it in ink, and in the corner of the parchment wrote herself a reminder, ‘Help everypony until I know.’
o.0.o
“Somepony help me!” Lyra screamed into the darkness. She turned back to stare at the monster that had once looked just like her. Its eyes still glowed yellow, but everything else had changed. It was a towering beast, standing at least twenty feet tall on two, mechanical legs. Gloved arms extended past its hips. A black head covered in white hair held the malicious eyes. On its back was a large lyre, just like Lyra played. Holding it all together was a golden torso made of some metal she was sure she had never seen before.
“Nopony is here to help you.”
You’re here to help you.
Lyra broke eye contact with the monster to try and find the voice that had just spoken. “Who said that?”
The monster’s tone became angry, “You will not stall me.” It grabbed the lyre from its back and began to play a nocturne. The song seemed to be coming from inside Lyra’s head rather than the instrument being played. She was getting sleepy. The song made her feel at ease. She could close her eyes and all her troubles would be gone. If she just gave up, everything would solve itself.
But they won’t.
Her eyes flicked open and she backed away from the lyre, “You’re right. I need to face my problems.”
A yellow eye twitched, “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
Lyra looked downwards as if to see if the ground had an answer for her, but it did not. She made eye contact with the monster once more, “I guess I’m talking to myself. I have to solve my own problems. And that includes you.”
The monster gritted its teeth and took in a deep breath.
“You were right about how I feel about Bon Bon. You summarized all my fears, but you forgot one thing: I’m not a fraidypony. I’m stronger than what you make me out to be. You may be a part of me, but you are not all of me. You’re the weak part.”
The yellow eyes disappeared under closing eyelids for a moment, “I see... But that does not change anything!” The eyelids opened to reveal eyes that were now glowing red, “I will still kill you!”
Lyra closed her eyes as the monster raised a hand to deal its final blow.
I art thou, and thou art I.
“I know that now,” she whispered to herself. She took in a deep breath and shouted, “Persona!”
She opened her eyes and looked behind her. Another creature, just like the one trying to kill her stood there. Its eyes shone blue like the ocean as did its body.
“Give me thy command, and I shall slay the Shadow.”
Lyra’s head turned back to the now frightened creature standing across from her. It was taking in ragged breaths as it realized its own demise was imminent.
She put one hoof forward to bring herself closer to the creature, “Bon Bon, this is for you... Agi!”
The Persona took the golden lyre from its back and strummed a bolero from the strings. Flames appeared on the creature’s body as each successive note was played. Its screams of pain were drowned out by the beautiful song. By the time the song had finished, it was completely covered in flames.
Lyra looked to the frozen Bon Bon who would be able to see the remains of the fire.
“Finish the monster off. I don’t want Bon Bon to see a trace of it.”
The Persona took one last pluck at the lyre and all that was left of the horrifying creature was a pile of ash. A breeze blew its remains away.
The sky was fading into its normal colors.
“I must leave now.”
“No, don’t leave just yet! I need you to be strong.”
It gave no reply; it just disappeared like the green sky and the red moon.
Lyra collapsed. She was exhausted after fighting herself.
She heard Bon Bon cry her name from nearby before she fell asleep.
o.0.o
Margaret stood from afar, watching the events unfold before her.
She felt Igor’s cold hoof on her back, “What can you tell me?”
“I can’t say much yet, Master. I will report when this is finished.”
“Good. You are quite the help you know.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Igor walked back through the portal to the Velvet Room and closed it.
She picked up a clipboard off the ground. She wasn’t used to taking notes, but what she had was very useful for her master and for her.
“We’ll just have to see how this all unfolds, Elizabeth.”
She settled down on the grassy hill and put her head in her hooves. If anypony saw her, she didn’t want them to see her crying.
“I miss you, Elizabeth. Please come back.”
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Hey, now that Golden is about to come out are you going to have Marie show up later on in the fic?
966584 I honestly don't know anything about Marie and won't be getting a Vita or P4G anytime soon. Chances are any updates to the Persona canon added by P4G or P4A will just be ignored by me.
966761
Will you at least use the music?
967023 I will probably listen to it while writing, but I won't be putting any music in the actual story. It's all text.
967740
I meant put the links to the Youtube vids of said songs when the appropriate moment happens.
970147 No, that would be extremely unprofessional.
971385
You're no fun.
Persona stories are difficult to implement.
There's just something that some authors can capture while others just fall short of the mark.
I see yours struggling in between the two 'somethings'.
I'm not really sure how else to describe it.
Keep trying, though. This has potential.
I am quite the confused reader.
GOOD NONETHELESS
So, Orpheus the Master of Strings is Lyra's Persona? I agree with this Persona assignment because it makes sense.
Also, if I may venture to give a touch of advice, the reason behind the Personae not always matching genders in Equestria is due to the extremely skewed gender ration therein. (At least that would be a way to explain it while making sense.)