Chapter 16: Vanity above all else! the True face of the Queen.
Rarity’s Palace – Mountain Pass towards the Castle -
The main village around the gloomy Castle was always the same, luxurious and modern apartment complexes mushed right next to brick houses with straw roofs that randomly ‘Glitched-out’ and switched style between Modern and Medieval; streets looking like a chaotic patchwork of marble and cobblestone sections coming one after another without clear order...Even the populace was dressed both modern and in pauper rags as if everything was normal, even the stores seemed to come from both historical periods in a chaotic mixture of old and new.
Unaware of the presence of intruders, every Shade present went through its established role and ignoring the Shadows that had run through the streets to catch the Phantom Thieves.
“Maragi!” the Shadow, a horse with pinkish fur, human hands and standing on its hind legs yelled as it summoned a wide spray of fire in a desperate last-ditch attack.
“God if they are annoying!” Ryuji commented as he barely dodged the flames.
“Orobas have only two attacks as Shadows, it is not their fault if they are monotone to fight.” Yusuke answered, his Persona Goemon was already pelting the second Orobas they were fighting in Ice attacks.
“I hate the most the fact that I am stuck as a Healer when fighting them. Carmen: Diarama…” Ann answered, huffing annoyed and using her Persona’s Skill to heal Makoto’s wounds.
“Not really, you also suppress their fire resistance, it’s useful!” Haru countered as her axe removed an Orobas’ arm at the shoulder, making it shriek in agony.
Orobas
“Do not pity me, Noir!” the poor blond girl answered, whining.
“Jack Frost: Mabufu!” Akira in the meantime called upon the cartoon snowman Persona to summon a sea of ice and freeze the arm-less Orobas in a block of ice.
“Booya!” statue of ice smashed to pieces immediately after by Ryuji, thing that freed the Shadow that immediately abandoned the fight right after screaming in fear.
“Only one Remaining! Zorro!” Morgana alerted them, just before his Persona assaulted the thing in a flurry of thrusts with its rapier.
“Aah!” The thing shrieked as it fell on the ground riddled with small holes.
“Hold up!” Akira said, he and the others surrounding the thing and pointing their guns at its head.
“W-W-What do you want?”
“An object, or you joining us.”
“Is an object good? I got my hands on a pretty-good HP Recovery one!”
“...Sure, hand it over.” Akira answered with a shrug and gladly accepting the energy drink the thing offered.
“Good. NOW SCRAM!” Haru yelled as soon as the exchange happened.
“Gyaaaaah!” with a last cry of fear the horseman Shadow ran away, disappearing soon after.
“Okay, that was the last one of them.” Morgana said with a sigh while putting away his weapons.
“Good, then maybe we’ll have some peace,” Akira added.
“Peace would be nice, but I am afraid this will be hardly the Palace where we will find some.” Yusuke answered, sighing in dismay.
“Guys, the place is a mess. Nothing makes sense here,” Futaba said.
“That bad, Navi?” Ann asked.
“The more I look at it, the more glaring it is: the Palace is shifting.”
“Uhu?”
“I saw the same house randomly switch from Modern Apartment to Medieval Shack and back several times in the span of a minute, same going for entire sections of the road. More often than not I see literal Glitches shake the place and things changing around the area,” Futaba explained.
“This is not normal, we need to hurry before the Palace crumbles by itself, if that happens Rarity will either die from the Mental Shutdown, or worse, go completely insane,” Morgana said while hurrying towards the castle up in the mountains behind the village.
“Any idea why this is happening?” Haru asked.
“Every Palace we navigated before now was defined, even Madarame’s that had unstable sections was not THIS BAD, what’s different with this one?” Makoto asked as well.
“I have a theory, but honestly that would mean something VERY BAD, for us and the rest of the world out there,” the cat answered while running ahead.
“Wait for us!” Ryuji bellowed, he and the others chasing him out of the village.
The path towards the castle was an empty and silent narrow road of dirt without even cobblestone decorating it, all around them empty trees looking like bony fingers closing on whoever passed under them, even the ‘grass’ was black and dying and the air cold and almost tasting of ashes.
“Wasn’t this place supposed to be builtwith the idea of beauty?” Haru asked.
“She is kidnapping ponies for spare parts to build herself a better body. Her Beauty matters, not other’s.” Akira answered while the group kept running through the lifeless road towards the enormous building.
“Uhu?”
“I believe he means that this Palace is about Rarity’s beauty, about hers and about everything she creates only. I am starting to think that to her the world is ugly and lifeless except whenever she has a hand in making it prettier,” Yusuke tried saying.
“The town down there was actually colorful compared to the area around it, if you ignore the commoners houses, whatever is influencing this Palace did not fully cover it.”
“We’ll have our confirmation once inside the Castle! Over there!” Morgana interrupted them, pointing at the imposing doors on the outer ring of walls around the castle.
The Walls reminded them of AJ’s Palace, these too were unkempt and dry, only in this case absurdly high and sturdy looking, with a very tall wooden door standing only slightly open and guarded by a duo of knight-dressed Shadows with horse masks.
“Fight or infiltration?” Morgana asked.
“We have been fighting Orobas ever since we got in, if I see another of those horse bastards I am going to scream!” Ryuji answered with a groan.
“I believe he is voting for stealth,” Yusuke commented, chuckling.
“Yeah, that.”
“We vote for that too.” the girls of the group confirmed.
“Guys?” Futaba asked with a badly-restrained snort.
“Yes?”
“You did not tell Joker you wanted to play it stealth,” The Hacker said while succumbing to her laughter.
“Wha?!”
“SHOW ME YOUR TRUE SELF!” the Leader was heard yell while pulling away the face of one of the Guards.
“GODDAMNIT, JOKER!” Makoto roared in disbelief.
“Well, they were asking for it, they were standing in our way.” Haru commented.
“Darling, please do not justify him…” Yusuke muttered in disbelief as the two Knights turned into two Eligor Monsters.
“You others say this just because you don’t understand the satisfaction we get after a battle well-fought,” she answered, putting.
“Damn Battle Maniacs,” Ryuji muttered in dismay while they joined Joker in the battle.
“Stop! Passage in this Holy Land is permitted only to the chosen of Queen Rarity!Transgressorswon’t survive my wrath! Double Fangs!” the Shadow roared while thrusting forward with its lance as the horse charged forward.
“Persona: Eligor, Double Fang!” Akira countered, making the two knights cross lances as the rode past each other.
TWANG!
The two lances crossed heavily, repelling the two Monsters that immediately returned to their starting positions, the Persona behind Joker and the Shadow in front of the tall gate.
“So I face a traitor?” the Shadow asked.
“No, Fool! You face a warrior of Justice!” the Persona answered, proud.
“DOUBLE FANG!” both spirits intoned at the same time as they charged each other.
“NOW! Shoot it!” he then ordered while shooting at the unprotected back of the horse’s legs.
“Let’s go, Captain Kidd!” Ryujiin the meantime usedhis Persona to ram the second Eligor as soon as it tried to charge towards Joker toblindside him.
“Graaah!” the Shadows roared in defiance while trying to push back against the pirate ship’s charge, only for Ryuji’s own hammer to strike the side of its head, a distraction that permitted to Captain Kidd to push the shadow on the ground.
“How nice! Now we can see eye-to-eye!” Ryuji said with a sing-song voice while Yusuke next to him unsheathed his sword.
When Goemon and Captain Kidd joined the two teens in facing the downed Eligor, the Shadow swallowed hard in dread.
With Akira -
“Milady! PSYO!” Haru yelled, summoning her own Persona to use its psychic attack.
“ARGH!” the first Eligor screamed in agony while holding its head.
“It’s as if somebody shoved a drill in my left ear, and a drill in my right ear…AND THE TWO ARE MEETING IN THE MIDDLE!” the thing shrieked in agony.
“Yes, Honey, that is what psychic attacks are supposed to feel like!” Haru answered, showing a sweet, merciless smile.
“Seriously, how did YOU not end-up with Joker?” Ann asked in disbelief.
“He is head over heels in love with you. Really, I think 99% of his time when awake is dedicated to thinking about you. He probably DREAMS about you as well! Even if I wanted, I would have stood no chance!” the girl answered, laughing heartily.
“Really?! Aaaw, Joker!” Ann asked, before gushing happily as she looked at her boyfriend’s back with a happy expression.
“A-Arsene!” Akira added, assaulting the Shadow in a flurry of attacks and falling black feathers, his tone only betraying a TINYembarrassed stutter as he called upon his Persona.
“Aww, Joker.” Morgana parodied her while attacking the Eligor with his own sword.
“You jelly, Mona?” Makoto asked, chuckling.
“SHUT-UP!”
“I-I won’t be defeated!” the Eligor answered, both soldier and horse finally returning to their feet to stand tall above the teens.
“Are you sure about that?” Yusuke asked as he and Ryuji joined the fight once forced the first spirit into a retreat.
“A-Ah! A-As if I will get s-scared to fight SIX against ONE…” the Shadow said with a forced tone once seen every Phantom Thieves summon their Persona and surround him.
“We used to fight four at a time, but then we wondered ‘Why Bother’? So now we all attack together.” Akira said.
“That is hardly fair!” the Shadow replied with a shriek.
“There is the fate of the world and two Races at stake, I guess we can be excused in this case.” Yusuke answered.
“All together now!” Futaba ordered in sadistic glee.
“Not the face! Not the face! Not the face!” was all the Eligor could say as the world became a blur of attacks physical and elemental that almost tore it to shreds.
Inside the Castle City -
Once passed the giant gates, and once sure any other guard was far enough to not spot them, the group of teens could see the absolute difference between Outside and Inside,something truly staggering.
Everywhere they looked there were Neon signs, in fact, EVERYTHING was pretty much covered or at least outlined by neon lights; fashion stores were proudly showing in their windows what were obviously Shadow Rarity’s creations since everywhere there were signs detailing those products as ‘Queen Style, from Queen Rarity.’
Hanging above the streets everywhere there were GIANT billboards with the Distorted Mare advertising several Beauty Products she herself created, to the point that wherever the Phantom Thieves looked, a picture of Rarity in that spider-themed dress kept looking down on them with a superior smirk on her face.
“A Prophet of Beauty, she is even described as such,” Yusuke commented with a frown while pointing at a particularly giant Billboard sign with a frowning Rarity looking straight at the camera…
The Prophet of Beauty has spoken: Beauty, Beauty at all costs!
“She is taking this thing seriously,” Haru commented dryly.
“Way too seriously,” Makoto answered.
“Sssh! Stick to the shadows! The place is full of guards!” Futaba hissed, silencing them.
“Sorry!” both girls answered, sheepish.
“Over here,” Akira instructed while diving in an empty hallway between two Beauty Parlors that have been built close to each other.
“SPAs, Fashion Stores, Massage Parlors, Hair-dressers, Nail Salons...I can’t see any other kind of shops here,” Yusuke commented as they crouched low to hide behind a long line of banners talking about Shadow Raritys’ new Hair Products.
“I think even Shido was not THIS Self-Absorbed in his own Hype,” Ann muttered with a crunched nose.
“No shit! And the guy saw himself as a Messiah,” Ryuji confirmed.
“There is something I don’t understand,” Akira muttered.
“Uh? What, Joker?” Morgana asked.
“Why she is both The Pretty and the Ugly?” Akira asked, pointing at a particular sign:
The Rarity of the real world: white fur and purple mane, sat on the floor on the left. Downtrodden.
The Distorted Version: tall, with dark fur and long pinkish fur sat on a throne on the right. A Queen.
On the top there was just a caption:
‘Remember: Never an Ugly Loser, ALWAYS aBeautifulQueen!’
“At first I would have said that it is in line with her Palace since she IS trying to build herself a prettier body, but it is strange to see a Palace Owner insult themselves like this, or at least doing it this openly.” Yusuke answered.
The more they looked, the more they could notice that in a way or other the Real Rarity was always put down as a Failure/Loser/Mistake when compared to the Mare’s Distorted Self in the various signs and billboards or even store windows.
“I guess her Palace was also built on some sort of Self-Esteem Issues.” Makoto commented.
“Shadows are formed by the side of us we don’t want to see and acknowledge, probably Rarity sees in herself something that makes her wrong compared to her own ideals, so her sense of Vanity gave birth to this Distorted Form, but mocking herself in her own Palace is still not normal.” Morgana confirmed.
“Over there, there is a crowd forming,” Haru interrupted them by pointing at an immense crowd of people amassing under a rather giant building with a huge screen on its front dominating the entire plaza.
‘Beloved people of the Land of Beauty! Your Queen is here for an important message!’
The Shadow on the screen declared, making the crowd of shades go wild in adoration, especially when the image shifted to show Distorted Rarity sitting on her throne with around her the cocoons of silk still moving weakly in protest, something that made the Phantom Thieves’ skin crawl in horror.
‘My beloved subjects! My Sons and Daughters that have accepted walking on the one true path that is Beauty, the time of ascension is about to come! The final pieces I needed are finally in my possession and my Rebirth will soon commence! So, in honor of this glorious event, I personally selected only the best ‘Materials’ to create a commemorative line of clothing I expect ALL OF YOU to wear during the Fashion Gala that will be held in front of my castle to celebrate my Ascension!’
The Distorted Mare declared with a crazed look in her eyes, and as expected, the crowd gathering under the giant screen could not scream loud enough in their happiness.
“My God, she is disgusting,” Haru admitted with a shiver.
“This Distortion is truly influencing the real Rarity herself in the Real World: she really believes she can do this and succeed.” Morgana muttered, looking ready to puke.
“Then we better hurry and stop her.” Futaba added.
‘But not everything is good, my Subjects…’
The next words of Shadow Rarity made the teens pause, a shiver of dread ran up their spines.
‘There is a group of Intruders that have come to stop this glorious event from happening, a group of Thieves have come to destroy what yours truly created in order to save we all from the ugliness corrupting this world!’
The Mare declared, and as the booing of the crowd was slowly turning deafening, the screen shifted to show pictures of the Phantom Thieves and their Persona.
“SHIT!” Ryuji shrieked at seeing part of their fights back into the Village being used to recognize them.
‘If you see these ugly brutes, alert the guards and you’ll be awarded with the honor of being part of my Beloved Collection! The Queen has spoken, Beauty at all costs!’
Rarity ordered before the screen went black.
“LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!”
“CATCH THE INTRUDERS!”
“DEATH TO THE INTRUDERS!”
“I don’t understand! The Alert Level of the Palace was down to almost zero until now and now sky-rocketed to 60%!” Futaba yelled in disbelief.
“Who cares about that?! Hide!” Ryuji answered, pulling Akira and Ann further down into a hallway so that several Policemen Shadows could pass-by without seeing them.
“There is an empty store here, the door feels like a Safe Room, get in!” Morgana hissed, opening the door for the others so that Haru and Yusuke could literally dive inside, soon followed by the rest of the group.
Slam!
As soon as the door closed, dozens of Shadows came to patrol the area, missing the Safe Room entirely thanks to their inability to sense its presence.
Inside the Room -
“Okay, we are safe for now.” the cat said with a sigh of relief.
“Quick check-up, how are you?” Akira asked.
“Besides actually afraid they will catch us? I can still go on,” Ann answered, collapsing on one of the dusty seats of the abandoned store.
“Same here, I can continue exploring if you others want,” Makoto answered.
“Me too. How do you think she knows we are here? As Navi said, nothing suggested they knew we are here,” Haru asked.
“I told you, That version of Rarity is fully in control of the real one, I saw her talk with whatever is controlling Celestia. That Thing has eyes in the real world too and knows we were coming.” Ryuji answered.
“That would explain why we could get in here relatively easy, she was actually waiting for us. There is only one gate to pass the walls, if they close that entrance, there won’t be a way for us to leave this city of neon signs until they find us…” Yusuke guessed.
“Fortunately they don’t know about Safe Rooms and their being connected,” Morgana answered, sighing.
“We may not be able to use them to take the Treasure out once stolen it, but at least we’ll be free to prepare properly,” Futaba said.
“You did well in hiding here as well, just in case they could pull down your Persona,” Akira said.
“Yeah, I didn’t want to test my luck.” she answered.
“What’s the next order of business then?” Akira asked.
“As usual, find the Treasure and secure an escape route, even if with this Distortion able to actually see and influence the outside world, I too for once would suggest fighting her directly.” Morgana answered, sighing.
“We are dealing with dark forces outside our, admittedly, wider sense of understanding, they wield Magic on a level we used to see only inside Mementoes and Palaces, we need to use extra caution.” Yusuke added.
“And this mean fighting them instead of sneaking past them,” Ryuji said, groaning in dismay.
“I can’t believe I am saying this...But I miss doing things stealthy and silently, at least we had the illusion of a choice even if we did always end-up fighting our Targets.” he then said.
“Same here,” Akira admitted.
“Cheer-up, guys. We have a Treasure to Locate and Steal, self-commiseration can come later. Let’s go!” Morgana declared while moving towards the door.
“Check if the coast is clear before,” Futaba asked.
“Of course, you stick close to us, Navi. This time we can’t risk you flying around and being our eyes from the sky.”
“Okay.” the girl answered, nodding.
As soon as their Cat companion opened the door of few inches to check nobody was around, the Teens silently poured out and moved through the busy streets, shielding their eyes from the overly-bright neon signs illuminating every corner in a multi-color blinding aura.
“The Intruders must be close, find them!” the Shadows guarding the area, in this case dressed like Police Officers with horse masks, ran by them on the orders of a knight-dressed one acting as their Leader.
“They must follow a hierarchy then,” Morgana whispered.
“I still think the castle is where we have to get in,” Makoto suggested.
“Me too,” Akira confirmed with a nod.
The Castle proper was situated right against the mountain walls, only offering a giant gate of shining black iron as the only entrance to the populace, rigth in front of it was being rapidly built an enormous catwalk adorned by lights and shining crystal decorations, dozen of knights and policemen Shadows could be seen patrolling the area while guarding the shades going thought the building of the catwalk.
“That must be where Rarity will hold her celebrations,” Haru guessed.
“A catwalk. She will hold a Fashion Show with the ‘Commemorative Dresses’ she talked about...Probably the great finale will be her in person going through her Ascension in front of everybody.” Ann answered.
“Of course, start with a sick showing of dresses made with the skin of her own kind before attaching body parts of others to her body to be reborn...I don’t think she can be more disgusting.” Makoto answered.
“Sick it may be, but this show may be what we need to steal the Treasure unopposed, she will be sitting in the first row to bask in the adoration of everybody. We’ll need to time this right: Steal the Treasure during the show but BEFORE she starts her Ascension, just in case both events will happen at the same time inside and outside the Palace,” Morgana instructed with narrowed eyes.
“This is a good plan, but how do we actually get in?” Akira asked.
“The main gate is out of the question, it would be suicide.” Yusuke answered.
“The windows are too high and we can’t climb the wall,” Haru added.
“There must be another entrance, even just for servants so that they won’t get in the way,” Futaba said.
“Uh?”
“You know...She is an Evil Queen, so maybe she has passages for the servants so she doesn’t have to look at them…” the Hacker answered with a shy voice.
“That would be nice,” Akira admitted, cheering her up a little.
Vrrrrrom!
A sudden loud noise surprised them as the rumbling of a big engine echoed out of place in the Palace setting.
“Hey, those are trucks! And they are getting inside the Castle! What do you think they contain?” Ryuji said while pointing at the column of giant black trucks slowly entering from a side entrance of the castle once the shade driving it talked a little with the Knight Guards Shadows guarding that gate as well.
“They come from a secluded street so to not ruin the apparel of the castle, Navi was right, there IS a secondary, hidden entrance!” Morgana said in wonder.
“It may not be for the servants, but it will be useful all the same,” Makoto added, making Futaba grin in pride behind her.
“Let’s go.” Akira said with a nod, and sticking to the very few shadows offered by the overly-illuminated front of the castle, the group of teens slowly made their way towards the well-hidden side entrance, only to see there too a small army of knight Shadows patrolling the area.
“Crap-tastic, it’s full of guards.” Ryuji grunted in annoyance.
“Should we try removing one at a time?” Yusuke suggested.
“Unlikely,” Akira answered, shaking his head slowly.
“The patterns of those guards cross each other, and there is always a duo of guards watching each other’s back, if we assault one, another duo will see us and alert the rest of them, we’ll be swarmed as soon as we start fighting one. And with this level of Danger in the Palace it will mean Rarity herself popping-out soon after.” Futaba explained.
“That is still the only way inside we have, how do we do this then?” Haru asked, worried.
“...Wait here,” in answer Akira watched an incoming truck and darted forward alone.
“Joker!” Morgana hissed with wide eyes.
To the teens’ shock, their Leader approached the incoming truck and threw himself down on a sliding kick, sliding between the front and back wheels of the long vehicle and grabbing onto its underside with his back and head barely an inch from touching the ground.
“Is he fucking insane?!” Ann hissed with a horrified expression.
“Maybe, but it’s working! Look!” Makoto answered while pointing at the column of trucks forming behind the one Joker was under, soon forming an ordinate line in front of the entrance.
“Nothing to say?” the Knight Shadow asked to the Shade acting as driver.
“Just a load of materials for her Majesty to use.” the shadowy silhouette answered.
“Hn! All okay back there?” the Shadow asked to its pall.
“...Everything is in order! Let him in!” the second Knight answered once a throughout check of the truck’s inside.
“Get in, Queen Rarity doesn’t like when her deliveries are late!” the first guard ordered, and watching the truck hurry past the gate that immediately closed once it disappeared beyond the check-point.
“...I am in.” Akira finally said after what felt like an eternity to his friends.
“YOU ARE INSANE!” Ann roared, almost catching the attention of every Shadow present, all for the others’ horror.
“Did not expect a line to form, but it worked.” Akira answered, simply.
“...Thank God I love you so much, otherwise I would strangle you for making me worry like this,” she answered, sighing.
“Love you too.” he answered, chuckling.
“Hahaha! Idiot.”
“Dangerous stunts aside, we got a way in, let’s go, as soon as the next truck gets in and the others stop moving, we will copy Joker,” Morgana instructed.
“I will help Navi doing it, you go ahead.” Yusuke answered.
“You sure?” Ryuji asked.
“I am not that heavy, Skull!” Futaba hissed, furious.
“Geez! Sorry.” he answered.
One after another, each Phantom Thief choose a truck and ran towards it once sure the guards were occupied by checking the one in front of the line, crawling between their wheels and grabbing onto the underside, with Yusuke offering Futaba further anchorage by positioning behind her so that she could be sandwiched between him and the truck’s belly.
Each Teen then felt their own soul try to escape when their truck went checked, fearing that the guards could also check under each vehicle at random intervals for further security; luckily though, all of them managed to pass through, soon finding themselves in a giant room filled in parked trucks assaulted by pony and human Shades rapidly emptying them to make room for more incoming deliveries.
“Over here!” they heard Joker call them from a corner of the room filled in empty crates, a wall of giant wooden boxes almost reaching the very high ceiling of the place.
“Dude, that was crazy! Why you did that?!” Ryuji said once they all rejoined Akira.
“I saw it in a movie, it looked like a good idea.” he answered, shrugging.
“Then warn us before doing something that dangerous next time! I thought you were about to be run over!” Ann answered, punching his shoulder.
“Sorry,” he answered, kissing her cheek.
“Hn! Better,” she answered, smiling satisfied.
“At least we are finally inside. From where should we start exploring?” Haru asked.
“In Kamoshida’s case the Treasure was behind the throne room, I would start from the dungeons in this case instead, it’s unlikely that the structure will be the same.” Morgana answered.
“I have enough of dungeons! AJ’s Palace was bad enough!” Ann answered, whining.
“Be strong, we need to do this, Lady Panther!”
“...Okay.” the girl conceded with slumped shoulders.
“Dungeons it is then, if this place has any, let’s go!” Futaba declared.
A small mercy for the Phantom Thieves was that the absurd amount of crates offered both walls and walkways for them to use to avoid detention, except in a single case where Akira decided to fight a lonely Knight Shadow to see if the monsters were finally different...It was a Kelpie, the seaweed-made half-horse, something that annoyed the teens enough they kind of overdid and almost shredded the monster to pieces before the poor thing could actually manage to run away.
Inside the castle walls – Entrance Hall -
What the Thieves found once exited from the tiny door above a short staircase leading to the delivery room was a long corridor, and after that, another LONG staircase that brought them to a side doorof the Entrance Hall of Rarity’s castle, a very small, well-hidden door under the main staircase connecting the entrance hall to the main hall of the castle, at the opposite side from where they entered the place there was in fact the TALL doors acting as main gate, the front of which shades and Shadows were guarding while building the giant catwalk outside.
“We are past the doors, good.” Morgana muttered in relief.
“I say we look for a Safe Room first, just to not be forced to repeat the truck trick again should we need to leave the Palace in a rush,” Haru suggested.
“Noir is right,” Futaba added.
“Let’s try to see if there is one in the lower levels, we are going there anyway.” Akira answered.
The Entrance Hall was awfully silent, not a sound could be seen, making their steps echo ominously in the empty room as they ascended the short ramp of stairs to look for other doors that may lead downward and in a different area that was not the trucks arriving point.
Everywhere they looked there were empty tables with pure-white tablecloths reaching the floor and tall chairs prepared for guests, with enough room in the middle to host small dancing parties, but everything was also covered by a thin layer of dust, as if nobody had entered in a while, making it hard to make-out the fact that the floor was decorated with black and white tiles forming intricate patterns, the giant chandeliers above both halls lacked candles, all of them having long been used fully until their wax covered the chandeliers’ arms in thick wax stalactites, the lack of lightand thick drapes at the windows easily turned the room into a dark gloomy place with long spiderwebs adorning the corners of the ceiling and waving lazily at the weakest gust of wind.
“Those paintings are creeping the shit outta me,” Ryuji admitted with a low voice.
“Why every time we see paintings in Palaces their eyes move around as if alive?” Ann asked with a shiver.
“It’s a common concept, everybody is certain a painting’s eyes are following them when they see one, especially if the painting itself is antique, it’s one of the few perceptions shared subconsciously by everybody, pony or human.” Morgana answered.
The two side walls were indeed covered in antique, giant paintings of Rarity herself in various Victorian Dresses, although all of them had in common few details connecting to spiders, like a brooch or a decoration of the cloth itself, and as usual Yusuke was ready to give his opinion about it, even if the others were a bit too cheeped-out to actually ask anything about it.
“The spider is the ultimate symbol of creativity, showing its power in the way it spins its web, the spider is also aggressive and you can see its aggression in the way it traps, attacks, and kills its prey.
Since the spider’s spiral net or web converges into a single point in the center, for many the spider sitting in its web then becomes the ultimate symbol of the center of the world or universe.
This is the reason why the spider is also considered as the master of Illusions, its symbolism is very deep and represents constant transmutation and changing.
In Christianity instead the spider can symbolizes various negative things: a miser who bleeds the poor people dry just as a spider itself bleeds its victims; the Devil and his traps, waving them just as the spider prepares its web; and a spider can even represent the malice of evil-doers whose web will perish like those of the spider.
Finally, the cobweb is a symbol of human frailty and-”
“Darling, can you please stop? Now is hardly the moment of an Art lesson!” Haru begged, groaning.
“S-Sorry, I got carried away. I was trying to lighten the mood.” Yusuke answered, embarrassed.
“You failed miserably, buddy,” Ryuji answered.
“At least I tried.”
“Hey…” Akira said, unsure.
“Yes?”
“This painting is different.”
The Painting in question represented the Distorted Version of Rarity, spider dress and all, standing tall and surrounded by a godly aura, she stood on top of a mountain with the sky and the clouds still open from her descending onto the Mortal World.
What grabbed Akira’s attention, as he then helped the others see, was the fact that the defeated evil Distorted Rarity was standing on, was the real Rarity of the real world, lying broken and clearly dead with a hoof of Distorted Rarity mercilessly pushing down the mare’s head.
“A Bastardization of Raphael’s painting ‘St. Michael Vanquishing Satan’. Another image of this Palace’s Ruler defeating and vanquishing the Real Rarity.” Yusuke said with a whisper.
“Rarity must really hate herself for being this harsh with her real self even in her own Palace,” Haru muttered with a sad expression.
“It’s her Vanity, I bet it’s all because she believes nature did not make her as beautiful as she feel she deserves,”
“Strange way to show it,” Ryuji answered, unsure.
“…”
“Mona?” Akira asked, noticing the cat’s thoughtful expression.
“Uh? Nothing, nothing. Let’s move on, we have a dungeon entrance to find.” Morgana answered.
In the Meantime – Top of the Castle - Rarity’s personal Chambers -
The luxurious room was divided in two floors, one to welcome guests and the upper one reserved to the Queen alone, it was also filled to the brim in statues and paintings representing the Distorted Mare while the fireplace was the only source of noise in there with the cracking of the fire.
“Nnngh! Aaah!” although a new sound, pained groans, soon joined the cracking.
“Uff! Uff! N-Ngaaah!” Shadow Rarity groaned again in pain while watching herself in the giant mirror next to her bed.
“Unfh! Uuungh! N-No! You won’t...Deny me!” the Evil Mare hissed through the fog of agony clouding her sight.
For an instant she saw her reflection in the mirror change: her face seemingly tried to tear itself in half while melting like wax, with the left eye losing the golden color and part of her mane trying to return purple and her fur white.
“I...AM...The Queen! I Won’t...Remain UGLY! I MuSt bE BeAutIfUl!” the mare roared between clenched teeth.
“GAAAAAAAH!” finally, with a titanic effort, Shadow Rarity recomposed herself, returning to her normal appearances, albeit drenched in cold sweat.
“Ahh...Ahh...G-Good. Pushed it down it once again.” she said with a deranged chuckle, breath labored and uneven.
“Soon I will fix it for good, as soon as I Ascend, I won’t have to fear being Ugly anymore…” she then muttered with a deranged chuckle, moving to fix herself up from her small down moment.
Back to the Phantom Thieves -
Once passed the Entrance Hall’s left door, the teens found themselves in the giant dining room, a long room occupied by a giant table richly dressed with a white tablecloth and adorned by luxurious silverware and pure-white ceramic plates with gold-made drawings, the chairs where plush and important, sturdy-looking and with blood-red cushions.
And just like everything else, it was covered by a layer of dust.
“For being so fixated on beauty, there is dust everywhere.” Haru commented.
“This is beauty for beauty’s sake. Rarity is not using any of this, she only wants to surround herself in pretty things.” Makoto answered.
“So the entire castle is like one of those rooms in your house you never use but just keep pretty and clean for guests to marvel at?” the other girl asked.
“Never had one of those, but yes, I think the idea is similar.”
“Why you have a room like that? Isn’t it just a pain in the ass to keep one sparkling clean if you don’t use it?” Ryuji asked.
“To keep up appearances, it’s a Guest Room you use only for when you have Guests, so to give the illusion your entire lifestyle is as nice as that single room,” Yusuke answered.
“Kinda stupid,”
“It is a bit foolish, but there was a time it was a very diffused thing.”
“It’s a waste of space.” Akira commented, looking though a small side door.
“Kitchen,” he then said once done giving a look inside.
“Let’s try the other door.” Futaba suggested.
“...A corridor,” Akira answered once took a peek.
“And?”
“Other doors,”
“Probably guests rooms, we can check them if you want.” Yusuke tried saying.
“I say we give a fast check, just in case.” Makoto answered.
As Yusuke suspected, what they found were interconnected guest bedrooms (Each decorated with a painting of Shadow Rarity hanged above the bed) and a couple guests bathrooms and a big private hall in the middle of the maze of corridors for the guests to use, and even a single wide balcony surveying the castle city underneath.
“Nothing here, besides a lot of dust,” Akira said.
“Let’s get back and check the other doors.” Morgana said.
The main hall had three doors, one for each side beside the one with the short ramp of stairs connecting it to the entrance hall; the left one led to the dining hall and then the guests room, now they needed to check the right and front one.
“The front one seems to take to the higher floors, so I say we try the one on the right.” Futaba said.
“Let’s try, but I don’t think…” Ryuji, opening the door, started saying before words failed him.
Hundreds of mannequins, both human and pony shaped, looked straight at him as soon as he fully opened the door, and if he did not scream in fright was because Ann hurried to cover his mouth with a hand.
“Ah-ha! We don’t want everybody to know we are here!” she hissed.
“Sorry, I-I just got surprised.” he admitted with a sheepish expression.
“It seems like this is where Guests are supposed to marvel at Rarity’s creations,” Futaba commented as they all entered the first room.
Dresses of every kind were neatly displayed in rows divided by colors, on the opposite wall an elegant sign in bronze was hanged to the wall for whoever entered to see, it proudly declared the place to be a showroom dedicated to ‘Formal Dresses’.
“Men on the right, Women on the left. This is the first place we meet that has not a speck of dust anywhere,” Makoto said.
“Of course not, these are dresses made by Rarity, of course she doesn’t want dust ruining them!” Ryuji commented, rolling his eyes.
“Guys, many details are made in leather and fur, a kind of fur we already met…Especially when Confetti (Pinkie Pie) felt we needed a comforting hug,” Yusuke said with a small voice.
“...PLEASE tell me that is not THAT kind of fur and leather…” Haru begged with a green face.
“Uh?” Morgana uttered with a confused expression, mirrored by Futaba.
“Pony skin and Pony fur.” Akira whispered, and that sentence caused a shiver to run up the Phantom Thieves’ spines.
“T-There are at least twenty mannequins here…” Ryuji said in disbelief.
“Yes, and all of them have at least part of their design made in leather, that is to say, skin of ponies.” Yusuke said.
“Oh, God…” Makoto muttered in horror.
“Let’s keep looking,” Morgana said once swallowed the bile that for an instant filled his mouth.
The room adjacent to that was labeled ‘Gala Dresses’, filled in dresses themed for nights particularly important, as demonstrated by the excess of decorations and accessories on both male and female models, and there as well, every dress had at least a detail Yusuke recognized as coming from ponies.
“She is looking for Spare Parts to use to create her ideal body...Why doing this as well?” Akira asked once moved forward, past the small showroom for ‘Experimental Dresses of Tomorrow’.
“Maybe she is trying to see how to do it? While creating dresses she experiments on how she will create her body?” Haru answered.
“Or maybe for her others are just walking sources of Materials, nothing more than parts to use for her creations,” Makoto countered.
“Both options are frankly disgusting,” Yusuke admitted.
At the very end of the gallery there was a small door with do not enter written on it, locked.
“Can you open it?” Futaba asked.
“I can try,” Morgana answered, grateful of Akira’s collection of lockpicks the PT Leader was more than ready to share.
“Glad to see you did not forget your lessons, Joker! A Phantom Thief always has lots of instruments to make their job easier!” the cat said in praise while attacking the lock, once held-up to the right height by Futaba of course.
“Be quick though, you are heavier than what you look,” the Hacker begged with a strained voice.
“Almost done…”
“I am pulling a muscle, Mona!”
“A minute…”
“My back is screaming in agony!”
“Juuust a moment...”
“I am a Hacker! My muscle mass is measured in negative numbers!”
“Aaand...” Click! “Open! You can put me down, Navi.” Morgana declared as the door swung open.
“Oh, Thank GOD!” the girl said, elated, and unceremoniously dropping the cat with a loud Thump! and gaining a loud yowling from him in answer.
“Meeew! Once saved the world again, I am dragging you to a gym!” Morgana hissed, once recomposed himself from the fall.
“Huhuhuhu!”
“And you stop snickering, Skull!”
“Sssh! Now is not the moment! Let’s just move on!” Ann chided both harshly.
“Sorry Lady Panther,” Morgana muttered, whipped.
“Yeah, sorry.” Futaba chorused.
“Seems like another corridor,” Akira said with furrowed brows.
“One full of mirrors,” Yusuke added with a scrunched nose.
“She loves looking at herself, that is clear,” Makoto added, traversing the thing first and trying to not feel freaked-out by the dozen copies of herself appearing at both her sides as she walked.
“Another door,” Haru muttered, eyes fixed straight ahead to avoid looking at her many reflections.
“...Stairs,” Morgana answered once picked that door open as well.
“Maybe we are getting somewhere,” Ann answered in relief.
Unfortunately their relief was short-lived as they could only find a small room clattered in half-finished dresses, drawings of future projects scattered on the floor and piles of raw materials Yusuke needed only a horrified glance to inform them of their origins.
“This must be Rarity’s personal Laboratory, where she creates her dresses,” Akira commented, dryly.
“Where she creates mynightmares, you mean, that’s a pile of pony skins freshly picked.” Ann answered, gagging in revulsion.
“The smell is certainly unpleasant, but this small trip was not fully useless,” Yusuke answered while pointing at a door that felt different from the ones they met before.
“A SAFE ROOM!” Morgana said, elated.
“In such a strange place…”
“There is a thin layer of dust in here, Rarity must have not come here in a while.” Akira answered.
“As long as we are inside there, we won’t be in danger of Rarity’s finding us, have no fear,” Morgana answered once opened the door to check that indeed they had finally found a Safe Room inside the Castle.
“Good, this means that we need to go all the way back and check the final door in the main hall,” Makoto declared, sighing.
“You up for it? We can always call it a day and get back to the real world to rest,” Akira said, worried.
“No, Joker...W-We don’t have much time before she starts tearing real ponies apart for her sick dream, we have to push forward,” Ryuji answered, shivering at the thought.
“We’ll rest once stopped Rarity, we have a deadline that is way too close for us to be lazy about it,” Haru added.
“Okay.” their Leader conceded once sure everybody was onboard with pushing forward a bit more.
Main Hall – Once returned from the Showroom in the right Wing -
To the Phantom Thieves shock, once passed the main, overly-decorated door on top of the short and wide staircase at the very end of the main hall, they found only a wide squared room with various seats and a lone piano in the far left side and a giant window on the right corner, and where they expected to find another door at the opposite side from the entrance, there was instead only a gargantuan fireplace burning brightly and filling the room in both light and warmth.
“Looks like we found another guest room, one where Rarity greets her visitors personally,” Morgana said, looking around.
“No doors to be seen anywhere,” Akira added.
“The books all talk about Rarity in a way or another,” Haru commented once checked the two long rows of bookshelves covering both sides of the room.
“Not surprising, check for hidden passages,” Makoto answered as she and Ryuji checked the left row.
“This is stupid, the layout of the room makes no sense! There must be a way for Rarity to navigate the rest of the castle! The outside is too damn big for the inside to just be like this!” Futaba growled in annoyance.
“Teleportation?” Akira tried saying while studying the empty frame hanging above the fireplace.
“I don’t even want to take that as a possible explanation, it would make our moving through the Palace impossible, and I refuse to consider it a possibility!” Morgana countered, frowning.
“Even if you turn into our van and we start smashing walls?” Ryuji asked.
“That would tell everybody where we are, Skull.” Ann answered.
“Same with using Mona’s helicopter form, just like my Persona, it will grab every Shadows’ attention if we start flying around the castle.” Futaba added.
“For Eff Sake! We just want to get inside this stupid Palace! Why everything has to be so effing complicated!?” Ryuji roared in anger, kicking a near armchair making it topple over with a loud Bang!that echoed in the room.
“Skull! Calm down!”
“No! I am done being calm! If there is no door I will make one! Captain Kidd, blast that damn fireplace apart!” the young man answered while summoning his Persona.
“Stop before-”
“ALT!” a booming voice said, Interrupting Makoto’s rant.
“Eh?” the teens uttered as one in surprise.
“Who’s there?!” Morgana demanded with narrowed eyes.
“ME! Who else?!” the same voice answered, and once said that, thefireplace went abruptly turned off by an unseen force and the entire section of the wall it was on filled by the huge projection of a Pony’s shadow, only there was no physical body projecting it.
“An actual shadow, what now?” Makoto hissed.
“I detect no spikes in power, I think that is more likely a security measure instead of an actual enemy.” Futaba answered.
“I am the Guardian of Beauty! I protect the innermost sanctum of Queen Rarity from every impurity brought forth by unworthy trespassers!” the shadow on the wall declared haughtily.
“That thing talks like it had just eaten a dictionary...You go get him, Fox!” Ryuji said while nudging Yusuke forward.
“Just because I do not descend into vulgar colloquialisms, it doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with me! You can’t put this on me alone just because-” the artist hissed in answer.
“You can do it, Fox!” Ann said.
“I trust you, Darling!” Haru chorused.
“Talk him down,” Makoto ordered with crossed arms.
“Hn!” Akira just gave a thumbs-up.
“It’s decided then, Fox will tackle this obstacle with his superior haughty talk!” Morgana declared.
“...I am seriously hating you all right now.” Yusuke admitted with a low voice, but actually stepping forward once nudged enough by every other Phantom Thief.
“Who are you, unworthy Peasant?” the bi-dimensional black silhouette demanded with a booming voice.
“We are here to challenge the ruler of this outrageous mockery of beauty! We demand audience with Queen Rarity!” Yusuke said.
“Blasphemy! Have you even seen yourself? You all look like some weebs out of a Comic Convention!”
“Tch! First of all: Weebs is used for Fans of Mangas and Animes that act excessively in their love for Japanese animation/Culture, and Comics and Mangas are two different things.
Second, we ARE Japanese, so that insult (other than being awfully misused and annoying) can’t be used with us.
And Third: I saw the décor of this room, so I refuse to be talked down by somebody that doesn’t even know how to match curtains to sofas and armchairs.” Yusuke answered, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes.
“Oh-Oh-oh! We believe to be big shots, eh?!” the shadow hissed in anger.
“I don’t need to act like a big shot with a Sub-Par Guardian of Beauty. I know I am your superior,”
“SUB-PAR?!” the projection shrieked with a high-octave voice.
“Challenge us, then. Give us a Test of worth and we’ll demonstrate you that we are more than worthy to pass through.”
“Very well! I would have normally asked you three questions to judge you for passage through my door, but since you had to insult my work here, I’ll take this personally and break you!” the pony on the wall answered in raving rage, and inside the room one of the torches on the other walls shifted by itself so to project the piano’s shadow next to the pony.
“I’ll play a song, surpass my piece in beauty and you will pass though, but fail and you will have every single guard rush here to kick your ass!”
“We accept. But no gentleman will ever say something as rude as ‘Kick your ass’.” Yusuke answered, smirking.
“Shut the Fuck Up!” the shadow roared back in answer, before plopping down on the piano seat and starting to play...with hooves, somehow.
The piece was actually quite good, at times fast, others slow, but otherwise it was a beautiful, warm following of notes holding in the background a feeling of longing and sorrow that could touch deep inside the heart of whoever listened.
“...I must admit that it was indeed beautiful, but I did not catch the title.” Yusuke admitted with a worried tone.
“Ah! I wrote this myself! Its title is ‘Ode to the Queen!’ a piece where I lament the fact that nothing in this world can match the untouchable, royal beauty of Queen Rarity! A Fine mare that’s like the Moon: delicate, gentle and yet so far away!”
“...And with that you lost my respect. For an instant I forgot I was dealing with the Delusions of Grandeur of a Palace Owner,” the artist muttered with a sigh.
“How dare you!?” the shadow yelled, aghast.
“I dare because you produced a ‘mockery’ of Art, something dedicated to Beauty itself, just to appease the frail Ego of a deranged monster.”
“Fox! Calm down!” Makoto hissed with narrowed eyes.
“Big words for somebody with clearly no taste in anything artistic! Play your piece if you are so sure about your superiority!” the black silhouette answered with a barking scream.
“…” At that Yusuke’s eyes widened slightly as he realized a glaring problem…
HE DID NOT KNOW HOW TO PLAY A PIANO!
“Noir, my dear, please teach this simpleton what real beauty is,” recovering rapidly, Yusuke gave a charming smile while kissing Haru’s hand.
“Ehm...Eeehm...T-T-There is something I must tell you, Fox…”
“Uhu?”
“I-I-I lied, I don’t know how to play piano...I-I took Violin lessons when I was younger. I-I said it was piano because I know you loved it and-and-and-” the girl stammered with watering eyes.
“My Darling, there was no need to lie! My Love for you needs not such inconsequential things to flourish!” the Artist said immediately while grabbing both her hands in his.
“Oh, Fox!”
“This is nice and all, but I am still waiting.” The shadow on the wall said, uncaring of the rather touching moment.
“Aha! Yes!...Any of you?”
“I can’t play a thing.” Ann admitted, bitterly.
“I am more of a karaoke girl,” Makoto answered.
“Bass.” Akira said with a shrug.
“...What? It’s relaxing,” he then said once noticed the surprised looks of the others.
“You will play for me whenever I am depressed,” Ann ordered.
“Ok.”
“Navi?”
“Synthesizers?” she asked.
“Nope! Real piano, no digital crap,” The shadow on the wall answered with crossed hooves.
“Then no.” Futaba muttered, dejected.
“Mona?” Yusuke asked, now sounding desperate.
“...I...at…” the small guy muttered super low.
“What was that?”
“I SAID I AM A CAT! I CAN’T PLAY INSTRUMENTS!” Morgana yelled while blushing in shame.
“What now?” Haru said, horrified.
“Well, at least you tried! Now let me just call some guards so they can skin you alive,” the shadow said with a pleased tone reeking of smugness.
“Fuck.” it was then that the Phantom Thieves heard the low curse flying out of the mouth of their blond friend, uttered with absolute vitriol.
“Okay, Okay...Goddamnit…” Ryuji muttered with a sigh.
“Uhu?”
“Not a word about what I am about to do, I have an image to defend.” the blond hissed while sitting at the Piano.
“Skull, we are trying to enter! Don’t be the usual Mor-”
(This guy is a genius, if you happen to see his channel on Youtube, leave a like, he deserves is.)
Morgana’s insult died a messy death as soon as Ryuji started playing, immediately filling the room in an angelic melody of ultimate beauty and perfection.
“Isn’t this from Tower of Gods?” Akira muttered.
“I don’t know, I know though that it is being played with amazing talent.” Yusuke answered.
“Since when Skull can play the piano?” Makoto asked.
“I don’t know!” Ann answered, utterly amazed just like everybody else.
“I am so gonna buy one all the same for our apartment!”
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” in the meantime Morgana kept shrieking at random, apparently still unable to accept the notion that Ryuji could be not only good, but ‘Amazing’, at something even after saving the world with him as a Phantom Thief more than once already.
“Mom wanted me to learn piano to become a ‘Proper Gentleman’, luckily our neighbor had a daughter that sucked at math, in exchange of Math Lessons from mine I got Piano lessons from her mother. But tell this to somebody and they won’t find your corpses.” Ryuji hissed while his fingers kept flying over the piano like a goddamn virtuoso.
“Only if you play at least once a week for me.” Makoto said.
“FINE!” the punk conceded with a grunt and closing the piece with a last long string of notes.
“So? Did we pass your test?” Akira asked as the Phantom Thieves turned towards the wall with the pony shadow on…
“…” To see that the bi-dimensional black silhouette had in the meantime hanged itself in shame at the total defeat it was served with, not before leaving the section of the wall with the fireplace slightly open to show the hidden passage behind it.
“I...I think you overdid, Skull,” Haru muttered, uncertain.
“So this happens when you win too hard,” Akira muttered, impressed.
“I-I didn’t mean to!” Ryuji admitted, watching morbidly as the shadow projected on the wall kept waving back and forth from the shadow rope around its neck.
“Let’s just go…” Yusuke offered as another projection joined the ‘dead one’.
“Nooooo! My husband!” the female shadow cried while watching the shadow corpse.
“We...We’ll pass though...Our condolences.” Ann said as she forced the wall open just a bit more to pass though.
“What will I do now?! We have seven kids!”
“Ju-Just ignore her…” Morgana muttered, and as one the Phantom Thieves passed through the hidden entrance to heart of Rarity’s castle, all the while holding their heads low and avoiding looking at the wall and the grieving widow with all their might.
Inner Garden -
Passed the secret door, and traversed the second VIP Guest room, the Phantom Thieves found themselves in a wide patio acting as the entrance of a giant garden filled in purple flowers, statues of Distorted Rarity and with pathways of white marbles on the ground leading to an enormous wooden gazebo big enough to contain a dozen people easily right in the middle of the garden, the thing was furnished with white metal tables and seats and a big fountain with ponies with fish tails in place of the back hooves holding-up urns from where water continuously poured out.
“Okay...This is nice,” Ann admitted begrudgingly.
“Fruits trees with strange purple fruits, statues, purple flowers, lanterns with delicate purple light and fountains, this does prove there is SOME good taste under her degeneracy, the Feng Shui of this garden is after all exemplary.” Yusuke added.
“Gaping later, Treasure now.” Akira answered while hurrying forward.
“Ah! Y-Yes!”
The garden was unfortunately equipped by guards as well, forcing the Phantom Thieves to battle their way through several groups of Pixie and High Pixie Monsters.
High Pixie
“At least Rarity is keeping them Themed to the place.” Haru said with a sigh while watching the last High Pixie turn into a mask and enter Akira’s Phantom Thief mask.
“Some healing never hurts,” Akira answered, pleased.
“Yep!...So...This must be Rarity’s personal tower.” Morgana answered, eyeing the absurdly-tall Tower at the opposite end of the garden rising high in the sky in all its suffocating glory.
The castle itself was surrounded by five giant towers positioned to form a pentagon, with the biggest tower standing alone in the back, and by its positioning in the garden, it was easy to assume it belonged to Rarity exclusively, compared to the others that were, by Futaba’s estimate, used by the guards.
“We are getting awfully close to Rarity’s personal area, we must be cautious.” Morgana said with a tense voice.
“We’ll bolt at the first sign of trouble,” Makoto answered as she slowly pushed the wide double doors open helped by Akira.
Kreeeeeeeek!
The loud sound of non-oiled hinges screeching made the teens skin crawl, especially since it was loud enough to make them fear any near guard, or even Rarity herself, would hear them.
Rarity’s Tower – Entrance -
The Entrance was just a wide space with armors both Pony and Human decorating the perimeter, two doors could be seen at the opposite side with only a two-persons couch occupying the space between the doors.
“I guess this is where technically on would be waiting to get audience with the Queen.” Haru said.
“Let’s check the doors,” Morgana said.
“...This one leads down,” Akira said, opening the door to the left.
“...This one goes up.” Yusuke added once checked the one on the right.
“Hopefully the Throne Room is in the higher floors, let’s first check the lower ones.” Ann suggested.
“Okay.”
The path downward was a narrow, barely-lit spiral staircase going down steeply with crude steps that made it easy for one to slip if they were not cautious.
“How deep are we going?! I am getting dizzy!” Ryuji asked.
“I guess it’s just an effect of the lack of details here, it makes it seems like we have been walking for a long time,” Yusuke answered.
Finally they reached a sturdy-looking metal door decorated by a horse head holding in its mouth a thick ring acting as handle.
“No lock in sight...How do we enter?” Makoto asked, frowning.
“Password.” the door asked with a monotone voice as the horse’s eyes lighted-up in an eerie red light.
“Password?...Ehm...Beautiful?” Ryuji said.
“Wrong.” the door answered.
“Queen Rarity.” Ann tried saying.
“Wrong.”
“Beauty.” Haru said.
“Wrong.”
“...Beauty Beyond Measure, it’s Life’s greatest Treasure.” a female voice said from behind the Phantom Thieves, making them jump in fright.
“Correct! Welcome, your Majesty!” the door answered, swinging open by itself to show a truly enormous room filled in gold and other jewels, piles upon piles of gold coins as tall as mountains, gems the size of adult men, walls completely made of ordinate piles of gold barsand hundreds of treasure chests left open and overflowing in gold.
But they saw nothing of that as they were more occupied to look at Rarity looking straight at them from a higher point in the staircase.
“SHIT! She found us!” Ryuji yelled while immediately taking a fighting stance of sort.
“Wait! She is different!” Haru yelled before any of the others could attack her.
“W-Who are you? W-Where am I? What is this place?” the white-furred mare asked with a scared voice as she looked around herself wildly.
“She looks ‘Normal’?” Ann asked, unsure.
“I don’t look normal! I AM Normal! Who are you people?! You may be wearing some honestly amazing outfits, but I still want to know what is happening here!” Rarity said, scandalized.
“Rarity? Rarity Belle?” Akira asked.
“Yes? Do I know you?” she asked back.
“We are technically here to save you, do you remember anything?” Futaba asked.
“R-Remember? I...I don’t know? We...I remember we just appeared in another world...A-And Humans...L-Like you? It’s all confused! I-I remember Princess Celestia calling us about the Barrier having some kind of problem...T-Then nothing else!” the mare answered with a scrunched nose and a confused voice.
“So basically Celestia started effing-up everything as soon as she got here,” Ryuji said with crossed arms.
“Or she was already under the control of whatever is behind all this ever since they appeared in our world,” Makoto countered.
“What are you talking about?” Rarity asked, confused.
“We are trying to help both our World and Equestria, something is planning behind the scene to cause the destruction of both.” Yusuk answered.
“And you need to enter that room for that?”
“In a sense.”
“Then why I knew the password? I never saw this place before!”
“We are inside your Heart, Rarity. You know all there is to know subconsciously,” Morgana answered.
“M-My Heart? T-Then why I feel like a stranger in here?” Rarity asked.
“Oh! Believe me, I know how that feels!” Futaba answered.
“R-Really?”
“Really. And I am starting to understand what is happening here,” the Hacker answered.
“I was having the same thoughts, my theory is gaining shape the stranger things become.” Morgana added.
“You are not scared?” Rarity asked.
“We have been doing this for a long time,” Makoto answered.
“This?”
“Exorcising Corruption,” Haru explained.
“C-C-Corruption?! S-She is back?” Rarity asked with a horrified expression.
“She?”
“T-There has been an Incident some time ago...I-I got Corrupted by something. Something that twisted me into s-s-such a brutish mare! A-A monster of Vanity and Madness! But the Elements were supposed to destroy her to erase her completely...B-But I still felt her deep inside, wriggling under my skin like a parasite. And ever since we came here I felt her whisper in my ears or-or-or-or taking my place in mirrors reflection…” the mare told them with haunted eyes.
“Who are you talking about?” Akira asked.
“N-N-Nightmare Rarity.” she answered, flinching heavily at mentioning the name alone.
“Nightmare Rarity? Is it a different form of Shadow Self?” Ryuji asked.
“Maybe it’s the same thing, only stronger and able to take over the real self of the person,” Morgana answered.
“Shit, that stuff now Evolved?” he said, groaning.
“It may be the Equestrian Version of what we see here in the Human world.” the cat replied.
“We are here to help, we want to destroy her.” Ann said with a kind smile.
“D-D-Destroy her? B-But the Elements…”
“The Elements acted from outside, we are about to destroy her from inside.” Makoto answered.
“O-Oh!”
“We are here to help, promise.” Akira said, presenting his hand.
“P-P-Promise?” she said with a small, scared voice.
“Promise. Come with us, we’ll keep you safe,” he answered, happily grasping her hoof as soon as she lied one on his hand.
“M-M-My Magic doesn’t work for some reason, I-I can’t feel it anymore.” she admitted, ashamed.
“It’s okay, we’ll do all the fighting,” Futaba answered.
“I-I can feel her, she is looking for me and she is Angry.”
“We are not afraid of her,” Morgana reassured her, smirking.
“I-I envy you.” the mare admitted.
“We just need to check something in this room, then we’ll take you somewhere safe.” Ryuji explained while jabbing a thumb towards the open door.
“Safe?” she asked, clearly grasping that tiny sliver of hope with all her power.
“Nightmare Rarity won’t find you there.” the punk boy promised.
“You sure she can actually enter a Safe Room?” Akira asked.
“It’s worth a try, if she really is a separate entity from whoever is in control of the Palace, like it was with Navi, then maybe keeping those two separate will be in our best interest.” Morgana answered.
“O-O-Okay, I will trust you...It’s not like I have any other choice.” Rarity answered with a long sigh.
“We’ll keep you safe.” Yusuke answered.
Once sure the powerless Unicorn was following them close enough, the Phantom Thieves entered the treasure room of the tower, marveling at the insane amount of gold and other treasures contained in it.
“T-T-This is my Heart?” Rarity asked, amazed.
“This is were the Treasure of this Palace resides, the Core holding-up this place and probably powering Nightmare Rarity enough to take over your body,” Morgana answered.
“T-Take over? S-She is controlling my body?!” the mare shrieked in horror.
“Yes. I am sorry, but as we speak, Nightmare Rarity is about to use your body to commit a great atrocity…” Yusuke answered with a saddened tone.
“A-Atrocity?”
“...S-She is about to tear other ponies apart to create herself a Better Body using the skin, legs and who knows what other body part of several ponies she kidnapped...I am sorry.” Ann answered.
To their shock Rarity looked ready to faint as she became unhealthily pale and shaky, along falling on her haunches and hyperventilating.
“I-I-I-I-I WOULD NEVER DO THAT! I SWEAR! I AM NOT A MONSTER!” she yelled, shook by heavy shivers of horror.
“We know, but Nightmare Rarity is feeding on your darkest desires, she wants to be the most beautiful Mare, no matter what she has to do to achieve that.” Makoto answered, gently caressing her back.
“I...I used to envy few mares, yes. T-The ones I felt had a prettier skin, or-or-or prettier eyes...B-But I never even just considered gouging them out!” Rarity yelled in horror.
“It’s okay, we believe you,”
“R-Really?”
“Yes,”
“We just need to find the Treasure, send the Calling Card, and once stolen it, everything will get better,” Haru explained.
“T-Then please hurry-up and find it!” the mare asked.
“We are working on it, Miss. It will take a minute,” Yusuke answered with a small smile.
“I never thought I would say that, but there is way too much money in here,” Ryuji admitted.
“I am living my dream of swimming in gold, and yet I am already getting tired of seeing this much.” Ann confirmed.
“It’s because this opulence is presented in a way that is completely tasteless,” Yusuke answered.
“Very, it’s all so...Shabbily presented. Too ostentatious,” Rarity said.
“It has been done by your Evil side,” Akira commented with a tiny smile.
“Umph! The Evil and Tasteless side,” she replied, huffing.
“That she is,” he answered, making her giggle a little.
When they finally reached the end of the treasure chamber, they found the absolute biggest piles of gold coins and gold cups surrounding a wide and stout pedestal made in white stone sitting there in a clear position of honor, but the strange things was that there was nothing on top of it.
“G-G-G-Guys...T-The Treasure is not here!” Morgana shrieked with wide eyes.
“So? We’ll look elsewhere,” Ryuji answered, unconcerned.
“NO! It should be here! I feel its presence here but there isn’t!” the cat answered, utterly confused.
“You feel it’s here, but we can’t see it?” Akira asked.
“Y-Yeah! It’s like it’s here, but then it isn’t!” Morgana answered-
“This never happened before, can the Palace Owner move the Treasure?” Yusuke asked.
“Not unless it has took physical form,”
“Maybe since Nightmare Moon knew we were coming, the Treasure still took shape?” Haru asked.
“It should not work like that, the Treasure should become physical only AFTER we issued the Challenge of our stealing...T-This doesn’t make any sense.” Morgana answered, confused beyond reason.
“We’ll ask Igor then, he must know something more about this,” Akira suggested.
“Y-Yes! Let’s ask him!”
“Who’s Igor?” Rarity asked, curious.
“A Friend of our Leader, he is very knowledgeable in this matters.” Yusuke answered.
“We will now take you to a safe location then leave this place and ask him for help,” Futaba added.
“B-But you will get back, yes?” Rarity asked.
“We’ll get back immediately.” Ann answered.
“O-Okay.”
“Very well, for now we’ll take you to a room where Nightmare Rarity will not find you and-”
Ting!
“What was that?” Akira hissed as a loud winging sound interrupted Ryuji’s answer.
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
One after another, big diamonds rolled out of a near pile of money, soon followed by a big crown, a necklace and various other jewels that then rolled by themselves until they surrounded the Phantom Thieves and Rarity.
“What is happening?” the mare asked, afraid.
“Bad news,” Makoto muttered, and as she predicted, translucent spirits surfaced from the jewels to glare at the group with their giant golden eyes, the only feature on their very simplistic bodies.
“I thought we saw the last of these guys,” Ryuji muttered.
“W-What are those?” Rarity asked.
“A Persona, in this case corrupted by this place to become a Shadow, in this case they embody the ‘Curses’ many people believe reside in various legendary Jewels of the human world.” Morgana answered.
Koh-I-Noor
“Are they dangerous?” Rarity asked.
“Not really, just an annoyance.” Haru answered.
“And they make for a good distraction,” A mellifluous voice added in cruel amusement.
“N-NO!” Rarity yelled in fear.
“Damnit!” Ann cursed.
“Get back here, Rarity! YOU BELONG TO ME!” the dark voice roared as a cloud of living shadows similar to smoke blew into the room to circle Rarity and dragging her away screaming and kicking in abject horror.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” they heard the mare’s broken scream echo from the staircase and all the way down to them.
“She got them!” Haru yelled.
“Chase that Monster!” Makoto ordered.
“Ghghghghghgh!” the cursed Jewels once again rolled by themselves to block their path.
“Out or my way! CAPTAIN KIDD! Mazio! Mazio! Mazio!” Ryuji yelled, summoning his Persona to assault all of them in lightning attacks.
“Persona: Alice! Megidolaon!” Akira chorused, and with a crazed laugh the tiny girl Persona unleashed all its Magical power in a deafening explosion.
“Johanna!” Makoto too joined the massacre, using her own Persona Nuke-Element attacks to open a path for the others.
And ignoring the other cursed Jewels, even if a couple did fuse with Joker’s mask, the teens rushed up the staircase, dodging the two guards Nightmare Rarity left behind to try and stop them, the Thieves simply knocked the Shadows aside without even fighting them and broke down the door to the giant staircase or marble and gold-made handrails leading upwards.
“So we have a perception taking over a Palace, like it happened with Navi,” Makoto said.
“Even worse, even that mockery of my mother was not that antagonistic!” Futaba answered.
“No,” Morgana answered.
“Uhu?”
“Things are even worse than that, I had a hunch when I saw the Village glitch and change constantly, with the glitches lessening the closer we got to this Castle. Then I saw the Billboards, the paintings and this place as well! And even the strange behavior of the Treasure! I have a theory, and I believe we will soon discover if I am right or wrong!” the cat explained.
“Bad news?” Ann asked.
“I fear they will be terrible news, Lady Panther!” Morgana answered just as they reached the giant gold-made double doors covered entirely in images themed after Rarity.
“Let’s blast this down, it’s unsightly.” Haru said with a frown.
“One three we’ll summon our Persona and attack all at once.” Akira said.
“Yes!” the others answered.
“One...Two...THREE! PERSONA!” Makoto counted.
“PERSONA!” the other chorused with her.
BOOOOOM!
Rarity Tower – Throne Room -
The combined attack of the six battle-oriented Personas of the Phantom Thieves completely obliterated the doors, letting them inside the enormous Throne Room of Queen Rarity.
As they saw in the video she transmitted on the giant screen, the room was completely covered by dark drapes of silk, with the cocoons still hanging from the ceiling and slowly waving back and forth; the throne was a giant slab of black metal crudely constructed and overcome by rust.
“HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME?!” the saw Nightmare Rarity blast the real mare away with an acid-green blast of energy from her horn to then forcefully drag the wounded mare towards her.
“You are nothing without me! NOTHING!” she spat in pure hatred, mercilessly slamming Rarity head-first on the ground.
“Stop!” Ann ordered.
“Do not interfere! I am teaching to an ungrateful filly her place, in the garbage!” Nightmare Rarity answered with a roar, blasting Rarity against the wall.
“If there is somebody here that belongs in the trash, that’s you, scumbag!” Ryuji answered.
“Don’t talk of things you know nothing about! Without me this miserable mare would be nothing!” Nightmare Rarity answered, painfully dragging Rarity on the floor and then lifting her until they were face-to-face.
“He...He is right...Y-You are just a bad copy of me...T-The sum of everything wrong with me…” the mare said with a weak voice.
“SILENCE! I AM THE BETTER YOU! THE BEAUTIFUL YOU! The Queen you never could become!” the Evil Mare said with a mad roar.
“Maybe because I don’t want to be a Queen...I...I long since learned that things like Charming Princes and Queens are not about gold and pretty dresses...It’s...It’s about attitude…” Rarity countered with a challenging, if weak, smile.
“LIAR! A Queen is the one that everybody envies! The Mare everybody wishes to be! And the one standing above everypony else!” Nightmare Rarity yelled in answer, throwing her away and letting her roll painfully on the floor.
“G-Goodness...I-I-I used to say THAT when I was a filly...D-Did you ever grow-up?” she asked with weak chuckle while still laying on the floor.
“Where do you take this courage, eh?!”
“I...I take it from these guys...T-They say they are here to save me. A-A-And I believe in them, because they never backed down, b-but came all the way here to save me from you.” Rarity answered, just as the Phantom Thieves moved to shield her from the monster mare.
“ALWAYS WAITING FOR OTHERS TO SAVE YOU! You are weak! Pathetic! That is why Canterlot Elite never wanted us! Why we never could become part of the High Echelons of the Nobles!”
“Oh! The horror...I never could mingle with simple-minded, stuck-up foals that think the worth of a pony i-is measured in gold…What a shame!”
“BECAUSE THAT’S HOW YOU DO IT! ONLY THE MOST POWERFUL, RICH AND BEAUTIFUL MARE CAN RULE THIS WORLD!”
“M-My goodness...Y-You are pathetic…” Rarity said with a weak chuckle.
“We’ll take you to safety, hang on.” Ryuji said while lifting the mare in his arms.
“Y-Yes please. Take...Take this monster out of my mind..or Heart...Or whatever...She’s hideous.” she answered.
“Hideous? Me? No, Darling. If somepony is going to disappear, THAT’S YOU!” Nightmare Rarity bellowed in fury as her body exploded into a think cloud of darkness that blew the Phantom Thieves back and surrounded Rarity like mist.
“No!” Haru yelled in fright.
“You are mine, you foal! YOU BELONG TO ME!” the Mad Mare yelled as her smoke form grew to envelop the entire room in complete darkness.
“AAAAAAH!” and Rarity yelled in agony as the Dark Copy of herself started spinning around her like a tornado of dark miasma.
“You are mine! You are nothing without me! Just an ugly, useless thing! Yahahahaha!” Nightmare Rarity declared with a cruel laugh.
“What now?!” Ann said between clenched teeth.
“You need to help her!” Futaba answered.
“Yeah? How?” Ryuji shoot back angrily.
“No need,” Akira answered with a knowing smirk.
“Uh? What?” Makoto asked, dumbfounded.
“She’s going to help herself, in more ways than one,” their Leader answered, looking through the cloud of living darkness with a proud expression.
“Wha?”
Inside storm of darkness around Rarity -
“I am not useless! And I don’t need you! I am my own mare, I can stand on my own hooves and fight alongside my friends!” Rarity tried answering.
“Foolish filly! I am what you wish to be! I am the embodiment of the Ultimate Beauty you aim at! I am your better version, and will always be!” Nightmare Rarity replied with a mocking laugh.
“NO! You are the embodiment of everything Wrong with me! Everything I always avoided to be! Beauty for Beauty’s sake, uncaring of anypony’s feeling! I create Beauty so that EVERYPONY can enjoy it! Not just for my own satisfaction! I want to make the world prettier! Not myself only!”
“Quit your yapping! I see into your Heart, your only goal is YOUR OWN betterment, be honest with yourself for once, I AM YOU! I AM THE REAL RARITY!”
“If you really see my Heart then get some glasses, because you clearly are so blind you cannot see the truth!” Rarity barked back.
“SILENCE! I am the real Queen of Beauty and I shall not let such an ugly wrinkle ruin my perfect bearing!”
“I will always deny you! YOU HEAR ME?! ALWAYS! I am tired of having others dictate what I am supposed to act and look like! Rich or poor, Pretty or ugly! I want to be Rarity! And I want to be Free!” the mare answered just as the darkness closed on her to suffocate her entire being.
“Then you should have tried sooner, little filly.” the Darkness answered, mockingly, as the first tendrils started to wrap tightly around the mare’s body making her eyelids grow heavy.
“N-No...N-Never…” Rarity whispered weakly while still fighting-off the influence of that Monster.
"Such Tenacity…” It was then thata female voice echoed inside her head, making Rarity’s eyes shot wide open, soon followed by her body giving-in making her collapse on the ground shrieking in absolute agony.
“Uhu?” both Nightmare Rarity and the other Phantom Thieves uttered in surprise.
“Just in time.” Akira commented, chuckling.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Rarity in the meantime kept thrashing violently on the floor under the most intense pain she had ever felt, as if both her body and soul were being shredded to pieces.
“Rather than accept a life in cinders, you'd strive towards splendor! This desire of Beauty and longing for Freedom seem to fit you better than ever before, if that’s so,then we'll dance to the very end!” the voice kept saying with a victorious tone, as if the owner was overcome in joy at a grand revelation.
It wasat that point that the mare felt an unbearable weight settle on her face, and upon touch she felt the cold presence of a mask covering her eyes, and with that, the only thought in her mind was one:
TEAR IT OFF! NOW! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE!
“The glass slippers are the icon of glory. If those really are the shoes you've chosen then are you prepared for your debut? I am Thou thou art I! Come!The ball awaits!"the voice declared just as Rarity finally grasped the mask with her hooves and tore it way from her face, even welcoming the mind-numbing pain of her own skin breaking open and her blood flowing like the ultimate form of liberation!
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” the resulting blinding light washed over the entire throne room and violently threw back Nightmare Rarity that painfully crashed against her throne at the opposite side of the room, demolishing it in a shower of splinters.
“Please say hello to our new member,” Akira commented, smiling cheeky.
“Dude! How did you know?!” Ryuji asked.
“I saw it happen with each one of you, I learned to read the atmosphere.” Joker answered, just a tiny bit smug.
“Ah-ha!...Smart-ass.” Ryuji answered with a mocking laugh.
“You know? I think her costume matches yours, in a sense,” Ann commented, snorting.
“You sure?” Akira asked.
“I...Oh, Gosh! It comes with a Costume?! I need a Mirror! NOW!” Rarity said with an amazed tone once seen what she was wearing.
A black mask with silver highlights and a black ribbon that tied her mane in ponytail in the back while leaving the coif swirl on the front;her main outfit consisted of a strapless black leotard, a chain belt with two silver roses motifs framing her Cutie Markand a scabbard for a rapier attached to her back, a black choker completed the outfit along a black bolero jacket with gold buttons, ruffled sleeves on her front hooves decorated with a red band near the end of the hooves and three floor-length coattails on her back. She wore thigh-length hoseon her back legs as well.
“You look nice,” Haru commented, chuckling.
“I feel...I Fell FREE!” the mare admitted, almost ready to cry.
“No! No! You are mine! YOU NEED ME! YOU BELONG TO ME!” the Nightmare monstrosity bellowed in rage as her smoke form rushed forward again.
Boom!
To Nightmare Rarity’s shock Something blocked her attack with a barrier of light, signaling that Rarity’s heart was finally no longer accessible to the Monster.
A short rain of pure-white feathers welcomed the arrival of Rarity’s Guardian angel: a female-looking being with jet-black skin, cerulean markings on its arms and a leotard seemingly made of blue crystal covering its chest and legs (with an extra “skirt” made of gold threads) while a coat of feathers white as snow hanged from its back, the hair were a highly-detailed reproduction of a stern hairstyle carved out of solid gold and adorned by a long blue ribbon.
“Begone!” the Persona declared with an angelic voice full of righteous anger.
“No! No! NO!” the living smoke roared in rage as it was repelled again.
“There it is,” Akira commented, pleased.
“C...Cendrillon?” Rarity muttered in absolute awe as she watched the tall Persona standing in front of her in a protective manner, its name blooming inside her mind like a beautiful flower.
“It’s your Persona, the manifestation of your rebellious Heart, of your wish for Freedom.” Morgana explained with a proud voice.
“Beautiful…” Rarity whispered in wonder.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” the realizationthat Rarity was no longer being hers to control and use sent the Nightmare parasite spiraling over the edge, and with a roar devoid of reason and sanity the entire Palace shook.
“GET OUT OF THERE! THE ENTIRE PALACE IS SHIFTING!” Futaba yelled in fear, and they could see the Hacker too was already running towards the exit FAST.
“RUUUUN!” Without stopping to wonder what Futaba meant with ‘Shifting’, Ryuji grabbed Rarity under his arm and started running away, worried enough for the Castle crumbling around them to ignore the faint pangs of pain from his ruined leg.
“KYAAAAAH!” not to be undone, the other Phantom Thieves too started chasing their friend through the collapsing corridors of the Palace to escape, especially since Nightmare Rarity was also chasing them at high speed in the form of a thick cloud of smoke with her faintly-discernible giant face in front of it that was devouring everything in her path.
“Why everything is crumbling?!” Ann demanded.
“Nothing is crumbling! The Palace is transforming into its true form!” Morgana answered, and as soon as they were back into the main hall, the cat turned into his Van Form to let everybody in with Makoto scrambling to get to the driving seat and floor Morgana’s accelerator as hard as she could.
“True Form?” Haru asked.
“I had a suspect when we failed to find the Treasure no matter how hard we searched, and now I got my confirmation: this never was Rarity’s Palace!” Morgana answered, mewing in agony as Makoto decided they had no time for turning and just started running through walls to get out faster from the crumbling building.
“T-T-This is not my Palace?” Rarity, held tightly in Yusuke’s arms so to not be slammed everywhere in the Van’s back, asked confused.
“Nightmare Rarity is a separate Entity something awoke inside you once again, correct?”
“Y-Yes,”
“Whatever resurrected her, or gave her powers back to her if we can believe her words, forcefully put her in command of your body! She IS the embodiment of your Corruption, and she was also feeding on your Distortion to grow stronger, meaning that she was pulling on it for sustenance and further power, that’s why until now we have seen two Palaces co-exist and try to one-up each other: she was literally forcing you to develop a Palace so to feed on it! But since you could awake a Persona, it means that you had not in you enough Distorted Desires to form a Treasure, that’s why we could not find one, the real one was being ‘hidden’ behind your lack of Treasure!” Morgana said, now finally having all the pieces to formulate his theory.
“And now?” Akira asked, just as the van broke thought the entrance gate of the castle so that they could run wildly through the streets and skyscrapers around it, but still tirelessly chased by the advancing cloud of smoke-like darkness.
“Now that Rarity accepted her rebellious Heart and awoke her Persona, Nightmare Rarity no longer has access to her heart and Desires, meaning that now this will become her Palace only, its true form,” Morgana answered.
“And that means there will be a Treasure for us to steal now,” Yusuke added.
“Precisely! Now there is no longer the instability of Rarity’s Palace clashing with Nightmare’s own to hide it, that strange empty pedestal we found surrounded in gold in the treasury is probably where the Treasure is located, we only need to send the Calling Card and take it!”
“If we survive this! THERE’S THE GATE TO THE FOREST!” Ryuji yelled with wide eyes as the sturdy gate was slowly being pushed closed by several Shadows puffing heavily on both halves of the gate.
“Stop them!” Ann shrieked.
“Alice: Megidolaon!” Akira, just as worried, ordered.
“Oh my gosh! She is adorable!” Rarity gushed as soon as the tiny Persona appeared.
“No doors shall hinder my Onii-sama! DIE!” the tiny girl yelled with a Diabolical roar as she obliterated those Shadows (and part of the gate) in a mushroom cloud of Almighty power.
“SHE IS NOT ADORABLE!” Rarity commented with horrified eyes.
“That’s why he hardly uses her, that Persona freaks the shit outta us! Go, Captain Kidd!” Ryuji commented as his own Persona took care of the other Shadows remaining with a shower of lightning bolts.
“WE ARE OUT!” Haru yelled in relief as soon as Makoto drove them out of the gate, and they could see the cloud stop chasing them before fully coming out, so that now the only sound they heard was of the van’s engine going full throttle.
“Guys, Look. The Palace is finally only hers indeed,” Makoto muttered with a saddened voice.
“Yes, she really sucked away whatever small traces of beauty still in there,” Yusuke admitted.
The sky was now entirely blood-red with black clouds hanging immobile in place, the moon was now full, although looking like a rusted disk of once-pale metal, a pale-white net of threads covered the sky as well in the form of a spiderweb; the village under the mountain was now grey and lifeless, with its shades inhabitants dressed in rags with heavy metal collars around their neck and randomly declaring ‘Long Live Queen Nightmare Rarity!’ with a tone of deranged fanaticism.
“The castle remained awash in light and fashion, but not the Village...Why?” Rarity asked.
“See for yourself, look.” Morgana answered with a sorrowful tone.
“YOU! You have good skin! Come with us!” one of the Knight Guards Shadows patrolling the streets said while pulling on the collar around a shade’s neck.
“I have been chosen! I have been chosen!” the shade declared in rapture as it was roughly pulled away under the jealous gaze of the others around it.
“You shall become part of the Queen’s prized collection! Remember the honor you have been bestowed with and be grateful!” another Shadow answered.
“Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen and her godly Beauty!” the shade kept saying the entire time it was dragged away.
“They are not Villages, they are cattle...Materials to use for her creations,” Makoto said between clenched teeth as the group descended from the Van to remain inconspicuous and traverse the Village towards the Exit.
“Here is the real Palace. It’s not about the world needing to be beautiful as per Rarity’s standards, but only about Nightmare Rarity’s Vanity taking precedence over everything, even other people’s lives.” Yusuke muttered.
“I-I-I am not like this! I would never do this!” Rarity babbled in horror.
“We know, she is just a Parasite, a Monster using your face to do as she pleases, but we’ll stop her. Together.” Ann answered.
“You up for it?” Haru asked.
“O-Of course! I’ll help you! My friends too were like me before you helped them, isn’t it?” Rarity asked.
“Yep! Not to sound too smug, but we didsave them from themselves!” Ryuji answered, smirking.
“Then let me help you as well, please let me join the Phantom Thieves!” the mare begged.
“Can’t see why not! You only need a Codename!” Morgana answered.
“A Codename?...AH! Like yours!”
“Uh-hu! Mine is Noir.” Haru answered.
“So poetic!”
“And mine Panther!” Ann added.
“And yours is sexy!” Rarity answered, sounding almost jealous.
“I believe you will need an Elegant one,” Yusuke offered.
“Like Amethyst?” Akira said.
“Almost, but not like what I had in mind,” he answered.
“C-Can I be ‘Jewel’?...P-Please?” Rarity muttered with a shy voice.
“Can’t see why not! Welcome on board, Jewel!” Morgana answered, smirking.
“Thank you!” she answered with an elegant bow.
“That’s nice and all, but I fear we won’t be able to take Rarity out of here, Nightmare Rarity is still in control of her body, we’ll have to leave her here.” Futaba said.
“Wha?!” the girls of the group yelled as one in shock.
“It’s okay! I will be careful and wait for you to return. In the meantime I will learn to use my Persona and powers against those Shadows. You just hurry-up and come here to steal the Treasure, I don’t want that freak to use my body for whatever sick plan of hers!” Rarity answered with a reassuring smile.
“You must be careful though, now Nightmare Rarity is fully in control of the Palace, there is no telling what she will do to you if she catches you in order to have you back under her control.” Morgana instructed.
“I will be careful, you just do not waste time and come back, I want to see my friends again, and finally be free of Nightmare Rarity once and for all.” she answered, nodding in determination.
“We’ll be back soon, promise.” Akira answered, and one after another they bumped their fist with Rarity’s hoof before moving towards the Exit.
“Godspeed, my friends…” Rarity muttered while watching the group of teens fade away once left the Palace.
“We are alone now, you brutes! En Garde!” the mare declared as her horn shone in Magic to unsheathe her rapier and point it at the creatures.
“Intruder!” a near duo of Shadows yelled as one whole turning into two Bugbear.
“You overstayed your welcome, now it’s time for me to evict you freeloaders! Cendrillon!” Rarity answered, summoning her Persona and charging the two by herself.
At the same time – Nightmare Rarity’s Tower – Throne room -
The place had been transformed by the removal of the real Rarity from Nightmare Rarity’s control, the floor was now shined to the point of acting as a mirror, with beautiful brown patterns from the stone that had been used to create it.
Everything was made of either gold or marble, the entire room was full of suffocating opulence that perfectly reflected the Vanity of the Palace Ruler as every statue was of her, every painting in the room was about her, and even the throne itself was made of pure gold and held in the hands of a goddess done with Rarity’s face on it; gold chandeliers, and even fountains of molten gold were at every corner.
“This little set-back means nothing! NOTHING! Come if you dare, Phantom Thieves! I will wait for you! I WILL USE YOU AS PARTS FOR MY NEXT COLLECTION! YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Nightmare Rarity declared with a deranged, soulless laugh that echoed inside the golden room.
At the same time, in the real world the Phantom Thieves started coordinating with Lyra, Thorax and Tempest for a pincer attack on Rarity’s Palace as soon as they reappeared on board the ship, so that while they faced the monster controlling the mare’s body from the inside the others in the real world could save the prisoners at the same time before the worst happened.
End of the chapter.
I feel a bit undìsure about this chapter to be honest...
A little extra: this is the map of the Main Hall of the Castle, right beyond the entrance Hall once passed the entrance
Stats
Page generated in 0.028 seconds
Total duration
1,017 users online
1,676,421 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
More we need more
10557918
oh okay. thanks
Ah, yeah! Phantom Thief Rarity, I LOVE IT!
...Seems to me that Rarity is Kasumi’s counterpart.
10558577
yep! I hope people won't mind! XD
10558580
Now I want to see fanart of Kasumi and Rarity together.
10558618
me too :(
ill just say that was a really nice chapter and i reciqignize that map. spencer manor anyone?
this was a good chapter the twist with the magic from the inspiration manifestation was nicely done.
The story isn't ruined because of the choice you made it is still a great story what I've written after this is just my opinion
Though I feel like the persona based off of cinderella doesn't fit rarity mainly because she is a different person with a different personality from the character that the persona is originally from. After thinking about it for a bit a greek play comes to mind where a girl is made to do impossible tasks for the goddess of love to earn the hand of her son(the details are not all here to summarise the goddess's son fell in love with the girl and through a few convoluted events the girl ends up doing the tasks to earn his hand again) the final task is to acquire some of Persphone's (pronouced Per-sef-ony) beauty and Persphone gives the girl some of her beauty willingly against Hades's wishes not to mention Persphone's connection to jewels a persona based on Persphone would fit rarity better as it actually connects with her ideas of generosity and beauty and shows them as rebellious in that Persphone rebelled against someone who could be considered dark I'll look up the play to see if I can show you what I'm talking about.
They finally have a light Kou type.
are the rest of the m6 getting personas, or are you rarity-biased?
am21.akamaized.net/tms/cnt/uploads/2019/02/Genie-Jaw-Drop.gif
Holy Piss! I love it!! You gave it such a plausible explanation on both why the palace was how it was before and for Rarity to get a Persona.
I can't wait to see the response Rarity will send once she is free. I just know it will be brutal and merciless while still having high class before ending with a crass translation for the simple minded. *mad grin* oh yes, it will be grand.
10558761
This is good. I like this idea.
Great work as always, I'll admit that when you made the announcement I was hoping that Rainbow would be the one to get a Persona but I love how well you executed Rarity's awakening scene. Also the whole scene with the Guardian of beauty had me laughing so hard I actually worried my roomate. Hope you can post the next chapter soon :D
10558829
Not biased, I just felt she was the less 'cliché " of the 6 🤣
10558761
I will be forced to give spoilers...
So don't read if you are susceptible to spoilers!
Persephone Will be the Evolution/Awekening
As per Persona 5 theme, the first Persona is born from a rebellious wish for Freedom from the "mask" Society demands the Persona User to wear to conform/Fit In (hence the Summoning Method of tearing away a literal mask).
The Persona then awakens into a form that reflects the "Inner Growth" of the User.
Makoto for example has Johanna, from Johan D'Arc a woman that rebelled against conventions and became a soldier.
The Appearances of a Persona is also symbolic.
Johanna is a bike: meaning Makoto still needs "something " to carry her to the freedom she wishes for, once Awekened her Persona becomes humanoid, meaning Makoto is finally able to (literally) stand on her own feet and fight her battles.
Akira/Ren Persona Arsene is depicted as a Devil in chains, when he finally "breaks free" Arsene awakens into Satanael, the angel form of Satan before he was banished from Heaven, and in some myths the one that gave Free Will to humanity, Something Akira/Ren does and fight for in both Vanilla P5 and Royale if one looks at both Final Bosses.
Kasumi Persona is Cendrillon, a being dressed in frail crystal because her convictions are frail, I won't repeat her entire storyline but her Persona actually reflects her being a "fake".
In Rarity case instead Cendrillon symbolizes Freedom and Beauty...in an ostentatious manner, she is still the little girl that wants to be a pretty princess with the pretty dress.
When she will "grow" her Persona will Awaken to symbolize "True Beauty", one that is Felt instead of Shown...
Or at least this is my plan...
😅😅😅😅
And as per Canon : first a "Rebel" then a "Deity Figure".
10559406
This is a satisfying answer mainly because instead of arguing you have given great points and well other than that your response feels like it's from a proper conversation thank you I have rarely seen that online unless it is with my small group of friends
10559481
I hate arguing and seeing/hearing people argue, it gives me a splitting headache.
It may also be because I am tendentially a lazy individual, arguing requires wasting energies I don't want to waste 🤣.
And you raised a valid point and gave a very well thought example, that deserves a proper answer, it's only fair 🙂
(I am Also glad you enjoyed the story enough to actually give me some constructive criticism, that always helps 🙂)
10559513
I am not biased.
Dash is too "easy to use" for a Persona.
Twilight would have come "Too late" for my tastes.
Shy felt too shy (eh!) To become a Phantom Thief.
That left Spike, Pinkie, AJ and Rarity.
I choose Rarity because between the possible choices she is the one I favour the most, AJ comes second and then Spike.
And since Rarity has a Nightmare Self, I felt I could use it to give her more "depth" as a character than just a lover/expert of Fashion.
It was a Coin Toss between AJ and Rarity, and Rarity won, simple as that.
10559513
No.
1 pony only, I already have troubles managing the PT as they are and give everybody enough screen time.
Abandon the story, but refrain from calling me a moron as I owe you nothing.
10559525
Even if I am, what does it change?
10559528
Perceptions are frail as glass.
Ask your question.
All your points are valid, very much so, but it still up to me to decide as I am the one writing.
10559525
So you are asking if I will add more ponies? Because that's a no.
You put on too many insults, resulting in the wording of the question being confusing
10559541
Bye! bye!
10558696
Exactly the same XD
You have a damn good eye, congratulations! 🙂
10559481
And as you saw, I got to argue with somebody right after your message.
It's all so tiring.
This is my fourth account on four different forums of fanfic, and in every single one of them has come the day I have to argue about the decisions I took in my stories.
I was of the idea MLP fandom was more open-minded, but I was wrong.
I never said I was a master writer XD
Heck, English isn't even my Lenguage! 🤣🤣🤣
10559619
KO awesome chapter, was not expecting Nightmare Rarity to make her appearance like that glad to see the real Rarity is doing okay. The Phantom Thieves will have to be careful and strong to battle this dark pony to save others before the deadline comes.
10559619
it's funny what I'm about to say kind of fits in with the themes of persona 5, screens and usernames are another kind of mask and while they make it easier to connect to others they also make it easier to get aggressive and say things you most likely wouldn't in person because they give you a sense of deniability in the end for me anyway even though I haven't managed to actually submit anything to this site or even finish the stories I have started I believe you should write for your own enjoyment first and positive responses are a bonus when you share this thing you have made with others after all that's what sites like these are supposed to be for sharing ideas even though things like that argument happen. That will always happen in places where ideas are shared, people have beliefs that your story doesn't match so they get confrontational even though they can just go and make whatever they want and post it on fimfiction themselves the best thing I can do is try to keep an open mind about the stories I read on here, try to have no expectations and overall enjoy these stories for what they are time and effort that has created a new viewpoint on a familiar story
10560284
I guess you are right, in the end what matters is my own enjoyment in writing, and I get that, lots 🙂
Thank you for taking time to answer my message, even if you had no obbligations to. 🙂
10560301
i guess it's just because I have enjoyed talking with you
10560484
Same here🙂
10559406
What about the 3rd evolution of personas
HOLY BALLS THIS WAS EPIC AS FLUFF are you sure you feeling insecure this is epic and nice idea of nightmare Rarity and giving hour og girl a persona and with the treasure demon's to. Tho it makes me wonder if your going to add the 3rd evolution of the personas
FWAHAHAHAHAHA! SIMPLY ASTOUNDING! I look forward to witnessing Rarity eviscerating the evil from within her... impressive as always.
10560816
They will appear, they are a major plot point even 😉😎
I see you’re a man of culture as well.
10562230
Indeed I am🤣
10559543
The fact he deleted his shite means he had a faberge ego and I love braking those types a people just so satisfying. I saw you’re carrying my idea for Aj’s calling card to the rest of them this will be good.
Monotonous, I believe it should be. Amazing work!
I ask if after the defeat of Nightmare Rarity will do something semilary than in Crazy Future by vavacung on deviantart.
because this part of the market between Rarity and Nightmare Rarity is great
10587272
I am not familiar with that...what exactly happened?