Not bad music choices but.... for her Persona awakening I had to play Persona 5's awakening theme.... that honestly just fit her rage more.

Great work

9571788
To each their own. I chose that music because I wanted to create a different feel with this awakening than Persona 5, but that choice works too.

Hey, as long as everyone's having fun and getting something out of it. Seriously, I was so worried about this story, mostly because of who I chose as the MC. Seems no one minds though, so that's good.

9571953
Hey long as my girls RD or Gilda get some action I'm cool.

JK I think this story is cool anyways.

Given her immediate sense of trustworthiness and approachability, as well as her seemingly genuine desire to save people, I have decided to dub Celestia the "Anti-Ikutsuki."

Really liking this so far, tracking.

A fantastic Persona awakening and debut fight. Also you have Celestia in a kimono and Fluttershy in a school girl outfit, please be careful my penis only get so erect. Also the school theme for Persona on PSP got my intrigued. Do you know if the PSP Persona games are any good?

9572668
I've played them both. They're good game, but I will warn you. The Life-Sim aspect was added for Persona 3, so none of those games have it. But they are firmly Persona games in their own right.

They don't connect to the current continuity, which is a reboot, so play those for curiosity's sake if nothing else. I think they ARE related, but only just barely so.

I have some questions I'm hoping you can answer, Azure;

1. What does the REM in this story's title stand for?

2. Is Xion's theme going to be Celestia's leitmotif during this story?

3. How long until Rarity gets the Nightmare Rarity makeover this time around?

9572900
I can't answer 2 or 3, but the REM probably stands for Rapid Eye Movement. The phase of sleep where dreaming happens.

Huh...neat.

9573020
9573088

I can't answer 2 or 3, but the REM probably stands for Rapid Eye Movement. The phase of sleep where dreaming happens.

Yes. This is exactly what REM stands for. As for the other two...

Yes, that is Celestia's leitmotif.

And no spoilers. But keep in mind the Author's Note at the beginning of the story.

I apologize for the length of this chapter. There's a lot to cover in this entry though. Hey, at least now you know I'm serious about being back, right?

Hey, I like reading and I've been ITCHING to sink my teeth into a nice, thick, meaty, chapter. That, came out more sexually than I probably intended. Probably.

Was she special or something?

I mean, yeah.

“You’re worried about your friend, aren’t you?” Igor said, his voice gentle and understanding, “You have nothing to regret. That situation caught you off guard. Anyone would have run away had they been in the same position.”

Oh yeah.

“For the time being, yes, she will live. But I will not mince words with you, Miss Glimmer. If nothing is done for her soon, she will die.”

That, is bad.

“The heart is the source of all dreams,” Victor explained, “Most believe that they come from the mind, but in reality it is the state of one’s heart and emotions that give form to their dreams.”

Is this a Persona crossover or a Kingdom Hearts crossover?

“It’s okay that you’re afraid,” Igor said comfortingly, “Acknowledging one’s fear is the first step to overcoming it. However… I’m afraid that you’re wrong about not having any power.”

To have courage is not to have no fear. To not be afraid in a perilous situation is not brave, it's stupid. We feel fear for a reason. Courage is knowing you're afraid, and keep going DESPITE that fear.

“I’ve seen many guests in my time, young men and women much like yourself. They find themselves in a situation where they need power, and call on the strength of their own heart. When they do, that power answers their call and takes form,” Igor adjusted his hands, “The fact that you’re here in this room is evidence enough that you have the same power.”

Now I want to see a Persona and Kingdom Hearts crossover. Boy would that get weird.

Starlight turned to the other bed, where she saw her roommate stir a bit before slowly opening her eyes. As Beatrix sat up in her bed, Starlight’s eyes fell to her back, which had red marks on it. She gasped before she could stop herself, catching her standoffish roommate’s attention.

The marks on her mind are starting to affect her body.

Beatrix gasped ant turned back to Starlight

AnD.

This girl had straight rainbow colored hair that fell down to her waist, piercing magenta eyes, and a more lean and athletic build. She was wearing a denim jacket, rainbow colored blouse, denim skirt, black leggings, white socks, and red and white sneakers. She wore a touch of lip gloss, but that was it for make-up.

Sup Rainbow?

“I told her yesterday,” Pinkie Pie said joining them, “She really changed after she and Blueblood started going out. Hey Dashie, do you think the rumors are true?”

So Blueblood is responsible it seems. Interesting.

Why did she always feel like crying when she saw this woman?

Because she's the reincarnation of your mother or some such. Or she's just very motherly and you dearly miss your mother. Which is completely fair.

It was almost like she was actually trying to comfort her.

She is.

When she went into the dining room, she was greeted with an assortment of different breakfast dishes, way more than Starlight thought she’d see. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausages, anything you could think of what there. Did Celestia cook all of this herself?

If so, then how long did it TAKE her to make all this? Pancakes alone take a WHILE.

Pinkie Pie wasn’t lying when she said that Celestia was a fantastic cook.

Pinkie rarely lies, she's not very good at it anyway.

“You found the will to live, something strong enough to pull you back from the abyss,” Celestia reasoned, placing a hand over her heart.

Yep. And I'm glad she did.

Starlight continued eating her breakfast, thinking hard about what Celestia told her. All the while, Celestia stayed by her side, looking at her adoringly. Oddly, the more she was there, the less Starlight minded.

Daaw.

As Starlight walked into the building, she felt like she was walking into Hogwarts or some other magical school.

You know what, imma let you have this.

“Come with me,” Celestia said pressing her hand to Starlight’s back again, “We have to meet… Principal Cinch to get your schedule and free pass, then we can head to homeroom,” she almost groaned when she said Principal Cinch’s name. Did she not like her?

Principal Cinch, oh dear.

What kind of person did you have to be for this woman to dislike you?

So rigidly Lawful Stupid that she's willing to peer pressure a young woman into unleashing a force neither of them fully understand for the sake of winning a sports competition.

As they walked, Starlight’s eyes landed on one student in particular standing by her locker. She was tall, with super long light pink hair, and was wearing a yellow and white sailor styled uniform straight out of a Japanese high school. The skirt was pretty short, and there was a pink bow tied in the front of her uniform, and a white one at the back of the skirt right on the waist. She wore white socks, and brown shoes.

Fluttershy.

“So, this is her?” Principal Cinch said, her voice high and grating.

I would hardly call her voice high, I'd say it's roughly same range as Celestia.

“Hmph, I don’t care where she’s staying. Honestly, I’d rather someone with her reputation not taint the walls of this school, but you insisted that we include her.”

Wow. 2 lines in. Two lines in and I already dislike you.

Yeah, Starlight could tell. Just the way Celestia dressed was out there, and Principal Cinch struck Starlight as more straight laced and narrow minded. These two were essentially just fire and ice.

Yep.

“But enough about her,” Celestia said with her usual smile again, “Now that you have your schedule, you’re a true student at Canterlot Academy. My homeroom is in room 3-D. Shall we?”

I suppose it's better than room 2-B, or else she'd never hear the end of the Shakespeare jokes. Although a more dedicated man than I might be willing to memorize that whole speech purely for the sake of the joke.

“Oh damn! She’s kinda hot,” one student said.

Buddy, whilst I appreciate and agree with your taste in women, pretty sure that's not just something you say out loud.

Seriously? Was that the only vacant seat? Sure enough, after quickly scanning the room, Beatrix’s seat was the only one with a vacant spot, right to the left of her. That would have placed her closer to the back of the classroom, right next to the windows.

Ah, the anime protagonist seat. Don't give me that look, you know I'm right.

If there was a God up there, he or she must have been cracking up at the irony of this situation.

I certainly am, though I'd hardly call myself a God. Although Azure has referred to herself as a Goddess a handful of times and she probably got a kick out of this so, yes.

Starlight briefly looked at Beatrix, but then turned to Celestia, who was giving Starlight and Beatrix a knowing expression. If she didn’t know better, Starlight would have thought she planned this.

She did.

“Greetings, students of Canterlot High,” an extremely feminine, cultured, and graceful voice greeted. One of the female students sighed wistfully.

Rarity.

At our cores, we are all simply one consciousness broken into smaller fragments of individuality. Never forget this.”

A Collective Consciousness?

And why did Starlight get the feeling she was somehow talking directly to her and Beatrix just now?

Oh she is.

“That last one really hit me,” Starlight admitted, “Before six months ago, I didn’t have a single friend besides my Mom. I did have one friend, but he and I…” she cut herself off, not wanting to think about Sunburst. Their falling out still hurt to this day.

Now this is a story I gotta hear one day.

Another student tapped Starlight on the shoulder and got her attention. She looked up and saw two girls, one wearing a green top and shorts with short neon green hair, and another girl with blue and pink hair wearing more formal and conservative clothes.

Lyra and BonBon.

“Really? Because you kind of seem miserable to me,” Bon Bon said. Beatrix stood up and glared at Bon Bon.

She looked by the door and saw a young man, clearly a senior, wearing a white and golden flannel shirt, blue jeans, and black boots. His blond hair and arrogant disposition seemed way too familiar to Starlight, but she couldn’t remember where she saw him.

Hello Blueblood.

“I’m sorry!” Beatrix cried, breathing heavily as he ran his hands up and down her arm, “I was on my way, I just… had a disagreement with a student, and…!”

She's terrified of him.

“Well, that’s not good, now is it?” Blueblood asked, “Why don’t you apologize to them. Go on,” he lightly commanded. Seriously, where had Starlight seen this before? It was driving her crazy.

Everything about the way you're talking makes me uncomfortable.

When Beatrix looked down at the floor weakly, Starlight saw it. In a flash, the Beatrix before her turned into the one wearing that skimpy leotard ensemble, who had the same defeated look on her face. And then she recognized the boy behind her.

The ring leader.

And it clicks. Now, are you socially aware enough to put together the puzzle pieces?

Starlight had a feeling she knew what was going on now. She didn’t know for sure, as she only had her intuition to go off of, but so far everything was lining up a bit too accurately for her comfort.

Oh good, it's not just me.

“Well, some student’s believe that Blueblood is really rough with Beatrix,” Pinkie Pie explained, “Thing is though, every time she’s approached about it, she insists that nothing is actually wrong. No one actually sees them do anything on school grounds either, so there’s no real proof.”

He is. And not in a fun way.

“I missed you too, Pinkie. Sucks we don’t have the same homeroom this year. I have Harshwhinny. UGH!” Rainbow Dash groaned, “I don’t know who’s worse. Her, Principal Cinch, or No Fun Jackie.”

No Fun Jackie, I know AJ's Lawful Good, heavy on the Lawful, but this is interesting.

“That’s okay,” Lyra said, wrapping her arms around Bon Bon in a similar manner, “I’ve got my own.”

Oh the fuckin'.

There was also a section of town called “South Street, where Rainbow Dash said all the “fun” shops were. Starlight really wanted to know what she meant by “fun”. Considering how Rainbow Dash was raising her eyebrows up and down though…

Oh I think I have a decently good idea.

Starlight shook her head. Pinkie Pie blushed looking down sheepishly.

Pinkie Pie embarrassed? Now this is interesting.

“Well… she’s a lot like me,” Pinkie Pie continued, twirling her hair around her finger, “She’s clumsy, sensitive, not really good at school, but she’s really kind, and uses her magical powers to help people. Even though she’s not very good at anything else, she does her best with what she can do, and most importantly, she never runs away from a fight, even when she’s afraid.”

I, hate to contradict you, Pinkie but, in the anime, she runs away a LOT. Admittedly that's mostly in the early episodes when she's trying to figure out what the hell's going on and she's scared out of her wits but, still. Then again, the manga is probably different. So, what do I know?

“So, now that you know that we’re all absolutely batshit insane,” Rainbow Dash said jovially, “Where’d you get the key?”

Oh I already knew you were batshit insane. The best people are. Look at me and Azure.

“That’s so terrifying, yet awesome at the same time,” Pinkie Pie leaned back on the bench, “You’re like the main hero of an anime or something.”

OK, that got a good cackle out of me, you win this one.

“Makes sense to me,” Rainbow Dash said with a thoughtful expression, “The thing that got me was the elevator itself, and how it didn’t start moving until you decided to actually live again. I think that’s important.”

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. I think that elevator was the transition between life and death in a way she can understand and make relative sense of.

“Probably symbolic of something,” Rainbow Dash said, “All that stuff he said about the Fool Arcana is true, so the fact that elevator started moving when you signed the contract is probably symbolic of the new direction of your life or something. I dunno. I’m into that sort of deep stuff, so you peaked my interest,” she turned to Starlight and smiled, “Yep. I’ve decided. I’m going to keep an eye on you. Maybe you’ll show me something fun.”

I REALLY like this Rainbow. She's not a moron and it pleases me greatly.

Starlight hid behind the couch and peaked out to see who it was. She saw a girl about her age, maybe a tad younger, with long straight purple hair with pink highlights, purple circular glasses, and the cutest pajamas Starlight had ever seen. They were pink, and had brown teddy bears on them. She was also wearing white bunny shaped slippers.

Twilight motherfucking Sparkle.

“Yep, that’s me. I keep weird hours, in case you’re wondering why I’m up so late.”

Night owl? (It's funny because Owlowiscious whom we haven't seen in ages.)

Time to get to work.

Showtime.

“You really have faith in these Persona Users, don’t you?”

I mean, have you SEEN Jojo's? Have you SEEN the insane shit Stands can do? Star Platinum alone can punch faster and harder than any human could hope to. And is a better artist than most people.

“Because I can’t summon a Persona,” Celestia admitted, rubbing her arm looking pained, “If I could… I wouldn’t be…” she shook it off, interrupting her thought, “Observe her, but like last time do not intervene unless necessary.”

So there's something about herself she can't or won't face. Considering what we've seen of Daybreaker, I don't blame her for being afraid to face that. And the fact that we've seen nor hide nor hair of Luna probably has something to do with it.

It was a game where the goal was to fill balloons with water, and the first one to completely fill their balloons won. However, these balloons were embedded in a picture of a screaming Beatrix, right where her breasts would be. The balloons themselves were flesh colored as well, making it look like they were inflating her actual breasts. All the while, Starlight heard recordings that sounded like Beatrix moaning, and the bigger the balloons got, the louder and more urgent her moans were, until she was practically screaming.

Jesus Christ!

When everyone around you is enjoying your suffering, what hope do you have of finding peace?

I have an answer, but I'm not sure if you can do it. Spite them. Laugh, play, be merry in spite of their enjoyment. Flip the table, change the game, enjoy THEIR frustration. And when they yell at you for not suffering? Smile at them and tell them to go fuck themselves.

“Not this time, though. This time he plans on putting on a show that’s really going to test his pet’s limits. Even if that dreamer shows up again, the show’s still going to go on.”

I do not like any of that.

Good. This meant she could abuse dream logic here. As long as she remembered this was a dream, she’d be fine. More or less at least.

More or less, this isn't your mind, which is something of a disadvantage.

There was no way she was getting out of there alone. Not unless she were a master magician,

Irony, thou art cruel.

“But… but I…!” Starlight looked around at the crowd surrounding them. She was beyond scared. She was terrified right now. If she ran out there, she’d get ambushed for sure, and then she might die, or possibly even get stuck here herself…!

Nothing is risk free. If you want to be a hero, overcome that fear.

That did it. With the tears still flowing freely from her eyes, Starlight rushed toward the stage, screaming at the top of her lungs, and as fast as she could.

YES!

He turned too late though, as the first thing Starlight did was whack Blueblood away with the hammer as hard as she could, actually knocking him off the stage

GET FUCKED, ASSHOLE!

Something she had to do.

Here we go.

Twilight looked, and sure enough she saw something that didn’t make sense. The arrow representing Starlight was changing color, shifting from blue to yellow, as if the system couldn’t tell if it was looking at a human or a Shadow.

She's drawing out her own Stand Power.

“Damn it!” Ring Leader Blueblood shouted, “You’re all useless! If the hammer’s the problem,” he pulled out his whip, “Then you remove the problem first!” he then threw the whip out, which wrapped itself around the hammer. He then yanked it out of Starlight’s hands.

Shit.

“No!” she cried! The bouncers then all jumped on top of her, wrestling her to the ground. She fought them the whole time, mustering up as much strength as she could, but it felt almost like the dream itself was becoming stronger to compensate. It was adapting to her.

It is, it absolutely is. Blueblood's in control here.

And much to Starlight’s disgust, Beatrix was kissing him back!

Stockholm.

Starlight could feel something consume her and become one. Something dark, and violent. Something that while still against her character, felt so much like who she was that she couldn’t ignore it any longer.

Time to go Super Saiyan.

“Sluts like you need to learn their place!” he shouted, slapping Starlight on the face hard. Yet to his surprise though, she didn’t falter. Her face didn’t even turn that much, nor did she say anything. She merely continued to glare at the ring leader, letting her hatred build, to the point where she was consumed by it. She got it now. That hatred she was feeling, it was foreign. It was her the whole time. Knowing that Blueblood had probably done something like this in real life…

Careful now, rage is a powerful tool, it can do much, but don't let it control YOU.

Starlight began walking toward Ring Leader Blueblood, who was backing away from her with a terrified expression on his face. She couldn’t help herself. She let out a dark, sinister chuckle as she smiled at him demonically. His fear… it was intoxicating!

This isn't good.

Inside the flame, Starlight’s entire body exploded with energy and power. Her purple dress was burned away, replaced with another dress. This one was black and purple, more Victorian in style, and had a red gemstone on the front in between her breasts. The dress came up high in the front to the length of a mini-skirt, but fell longer in the back to the length of a standard gown. Black fishnet stockings appeared on her legs, and her boots were replaced with red high heels. Her make-up changed, as her lipstick darkened to look more blood red, and her eye-shadow was joined with black eye-liner that made her eyes look sharpened. Finally on her head, was a large, true to form witch’s hat. She held her hands out in front of her almost sensually as her Channeling Ring glowed, and some of the flames around took form as a large sinister looking scythe. She spun the scythe above her elegantly before slashing with it, partially dispersing the flames and revealing her new form.

Oh, now this is interesting.

Behind her, the remaining flames converged into something just as terrifying, if not more terrifying. It was a spirit of some sort. The spirit looked like a metallic doll with raven black hair, wearing a red and black dress that while elegant and flowing, left very little to the imagination, showing off her voluptuous figure. The doll’s shapely legs extended to form dangerous looking blades, and both of her hands were long, dangerous looking claws. Finally, on the doll’s back was a pair of black feathery wings, and her red eyes had a hateful glare as they gazed at the now terrified ring leader.

STANDO POWAH!

“They seriously think changing forms will deter us? They truly are scum. Hate them with all of your might, my pupil! Let your hatred guide your blade!”

Temper your hatred into a blade of its own, don't let your hatred consume you as it will Blueblood.

Morgana held one clawed hand toward the enemies and fired a blast of ice at one, instantly killing it.

Blizzard!

“No…! NO!” the ring leader shouted stomping his foot, “A Persona User! But… but how?! You were weak and helpless just a second ago! Now all of a sudden you’re… you’re… ARGH!”

“I believe you…!” Beatrix said, sobbing helplessly, “Thank you…! Thank you for keeping me alive…!”

You've done it. You've reignited her hope. When Blueblood sought to extinguish that flame, you protected and rekindled the embers.

“MORGANA! FREEZE THE GROUND!” Starlight commanded. Morgana manifested and shot Bufu on the ground, freezing it. Starlight then allowed herself to know she could ice skate, and simply slid on the ice elegantly, at one point even jumping up into the air and spinning over a bouncer as he tried to grab her, causing him to slip and slide into the ones chasing her. She was pretty sure she heard a sound akin to bowling pins when they collided.

NICE ONE!

Starlight had a bunch of questions herself, like why her clothes changed? What that spirit was? And what was this wisp talking about with this “Phase” thing? In fact, who was even talking to her?! She wanted to ask these questions, but found that everything was starting to get hazy. Before she knew it, the ground was getting closer and closer, until her world went dark.

She's tapped.

I figured Xion's theme was Celestia's leitmotif, but I had to be sure. Having said that...

...Xion.

Also, when you say "beginning of the story", do you mean the Prologue or 9/2?

9573539
I mean the Prologue.

Not everything will play out the way you think it will. Remember, the world of My Little Pony is but one mask that their world can take.

Gotcha. There are just things I've come to expect in your wonderful stories at this point, namely;

1. Rarity becoming Nightmare Rarity after going through the emotional wringer.

2. Celestia being a benevolent mentor with a dark and troubled past.

By the way, did you see the comment I left on your "The big one is up" blog post for this story regarding my plans to have a full-fledged crossover between my Avengers-Verse and Chrono Reflect?

9573470
Okay. I'm sorry, but I just become irrationally enraged whenever I hear someone refer to a Persona as a Stand. They're similar, but they're not the same thing.

9573731

Sorry. I know there's a difference, I'm mostly using the term Stand as a point of reference since I'm much more familiar with Jojo's than Persona.

9573650
I did. Sorry I never got back to you. I say go for it. I love the idea of my work helping to impact others. That's what we're all here to do anyway. Help each other on our respective journeys.

And trust me, Nightmare Rarity IS a factor in this, and plays a huge role in her character. But again, not everything is as it seems.

It's fine. In regards to the crossover between Chrono Reflect and my Avengers-Verse (which I've dubbed as the Elements of Harmony Arc), it will be set after the events of Chrono Reflect since I respect your work too much to tamper with it. That's also why I'm going out of my way to avoid subjecting the Chrono Reflect versions of the Mane Six to a Happy Ending Override. I just can't do that to them.

Also, I had a feeling Nightmare Rarity was going to appear in Persona 6: REM. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see when she'll show up.

The first time someone summons their Persona is always the most epic. With the possible exception of their Ultimate Persona like Satanael.

Ugh, finally finished this chapter. Took me forever to read

Oh boy, her Persona's gonna tell her when to go to bed isn't it?

Not bad. Her first Awakening was good, though not really as epic as when you RIP off your mask in Persona 5. LOVE the scythe though, wish more games had one of those.

10521911
Scythes are cool, but a reaper scythe is a horribly impractical weapon

11247910
Dream logic cancels out all impracticality.

Nice! This was Amazing!
Although I'm working on a MLP Persona crossover of my own! Ironically enough I also wanted to use Morgana as a starter Persona for my main Protagonist! I was going to focus more on her aspect as fallen witch than demon character thought and call her Morgan instead!
Really loved this!

11247910
Agreed, but a Bec De Corbin with a hammerhead shaped like a skull would be a kick ass Reaper scythe.

You need to be asleep to see Morgana? I see what you did there.