> Persona 4: Friendship is Magic
>  by PresidentFreeWrite
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Yu Hijacked
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Yu Narukami was on the way back home after the Golden Week trip. He was on the same train he had arrived at Inaba last year, only heading back home to go back to a boring life in the big city. So much had happened in the small town that the hustle and bustle of the big city seemed dull by comparison.  The adventures he had gone with his good friends, the special powers he gained, the things he learned from friendships, and the battles he had fought were all things he had held dear to him. He would miss the “Onii-chan” of his little cousin Nanako, and his several girlfriends of course. 

All this remembering had also brought up the tournament. The fighting competition had forced him and his friends to duke it out ‘till near death, but they had discovered the culprit, only to find that there was one on the loose still. Where did that Malevolent Entity go? The one that impersonated Naoto-kun and nearly killed us? We said we would let the Shadow Operatives handle it, but its still bugging me. Well, not as much as Yosuke’s nurse fetish, but still. The high school student’s eyes began to close, lulling him into a slumber that was quite comfortable.

Well, except for the female voice that greeted him inside a familiar blue room, an all too familiar intrusion for the Wild Card. 

“Welcome to the Velvet Room, Yu. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Yu awoke in the Velvet Room, but it was different than he remembered. It used to be a limousine that was decked out in alcoholic beverages and a pretty swanky interior. This time around, it retained its swankiness, but was tighter and louder, as he could hear… light clopping coming from outside the room. He looked at the female voice’s origin, but only found a sea green unicorn, which was wearing… a… Velvet Room uniform… Yu sighed at his predicament. Apparently, Margaret turned into a Technicolor horse. This was going to be fun.

“Hello, Margaret. Loving the new look.” Yu jabbed, chuckling a bit.

“Margaret? Oh! Your last Velvet Room assistant? I’m not even from their family. I’m new, so be nicer, okay?” the sea green colored horse snapped, “But, I feel I should introduce myself, as I’m going to be your new one while you are in Equestria. I am Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings. Its nice to meet you, Yu.”

{>“Equestria?”
“New?”
“You’re a unicorn.”}*

“Equestria? ‘Equis’ means horse, but…” Yu said, trying to think this through.

“Well, yeah. It’s the land of ponies. Nothing special compared to your world, I’m sure. You’ll have to tell me about it sometime when you get time away from doing Social Links with everypony.” Lyra said, wanting to know more.

“…Everypony? You’re serious? I’m going to be doing Social Links with… ponies.” He said, facehoofing from the sheer stupidity of the situation.

That was when it struck him. He was, in fact, a pony as well. While he wasn’t a bright one, he still had a steely blue coat, along with a muted brown set of hooves. He retained his silver hair and hairstyle, but it was even shinier than normal. His bottom had the backside of the tarot card that he used on it. He was shocked into silence, which was his usual response to most things, but this was all too much for him to handle. Why couldn’t it have been Teddie or Kanji? Kanji, as he knew, was a fan of this show on the children’s channel in Inaba, one about magic ponies that he had absolutely no idea about. Apparently, he was now part of a community that called themselves “Bronies” that was really massive over in the States. He even made and shipped well-made plushies all over the world, raking in the dough over the internet. He had never showed them to Yu, however.

“Well, I guessed you noticed. You should feel lucky, its not every day a human is teleported to Equestria, not that anyone on the MLH forums would believe that. Regardless, you still have your Wild Card that lets you switch personas, you still have Izanagi, and you have a new destiny to fulfill. Pretty much everything else was left in your world. Fresh Starts are always fun, right?” Lyra snickered.

All Yu could do was squeak at this point.

“Oh, and you will need a name that befits a Stallion like you. Or are you a Colt still? No matter. I’ve seen your escapades with the ladies on the MLH forums, and I do mean ALL of it. I’d say you are a Storm. Storm… Muster…stud? Yeah, that should do it. ‘Yu Narukami’ just sounds… out of place.” 

That was when Storm blushed. Someone had… seen him with… everyone… even Kanji…? He was now less shocked and more… fearful. This Lyra character was a very interesting Velvet Room assistant, but she was sure a creepy one. He felt a slight headache run through his pony head as he laid a hoof to it.

“When you wake up, you will be greeted by both new faces and familiar presences. Old and new, right? You will face both a new foe and old favorites, along with your own demons on the way. Equestria, GO!” Lyra said, stomping one of her hooves, knocking Storm out.

---

A white Stallion with blonde hair was fixing his tie, raising his eyebrows and showing his pearly whites. He polished his horn and then admired his Compass Rose flank tattoo.

“Damn, I look good. Too bad that Rarity bitch didn’t think so. Good riddance, it took me weeks to get all the cake off of me.”

That’s when he heard an… unnatural noise. A cross between a slither and static was the closest the unicorn could come up with. He started to panic, looking around for anything suspicious. 

“Its just your imagination, Blueblood. Your paranoia is getting the best of you. Everything’s peachy keen.” The unicorn said, trying to console himself. That was when he stepped in some black goop and recoiled. “Ugh! This will totally stain.”

The black goop began to seep up his leg, spreading quickly and pulsating as if it were alive. The regal stallion tried to scrape it off in haste, but that only spread the slag onto his other front hoof. This goop was pulling him into the floor, rapidly taking over the Prince. Blueblood struggled as he sunk into the floor. He was nearly all in the pile of goop when the Prince belted out his hardest cry.

“GAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUURRRRDDDDDSSSSSSS!” Prince Blueblood said as he disappeared into the hollow slag.
	
> An Apple Family Tour
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday

“Are ya okay, Sugarcube? You took a nasty fall from… nowhere. Great, now ahm confused.”

The blue pony opened his eyes as he felt a sharp pain on his flank. Storm had really never had this happen when he was Yu, but he was now a Technicolor stallion with a much sexualized cover name. Anything was possible in this instance. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the visage of an orange pony with a blonde mane tied up with a small band as well as a Stetson hat. She had adorable freckles and bright green eyes, and she was looking confused.

“He’s an Earth Pony… but he fell from the clouds. The only time that a Pegasus had their wings taken away was in that hedge maze with- Oh! Yer up. How’re ya feelin’, Sugarcube?” The orange pony checked, offering a hoof to the downed Stallion.

{“I’m fine, thank you.”
>”A bit bruised, but I’ll live.”
“IT HURTS SO MUCH!”}

“I’m a bit bruised, but I’ll live. May I ask where I am right now?” The blue pony said, taking the offered hoof and wobbling a bit.

The orange cowgirl pony snickered at the new stallion’s attempts at standing on four hooves and trotting. She put her arm around the blue pony and smiled. “Ah can tell you are a bit wobbly from the fall an’ everythin’. Why don’t you stay at our place? And to answer your question, this is Sweet Apple Acres, the best producer of apples around.”
The stallion proceeded to essentially learn how to walk again to the barn with the . The barn was your typical American stereotype of a farm house, only with a bell on top. The orange pony stopped him just before the entrance and turned to him.

“This is where ya’ll can stay until ya can get on yer feet. Literally in this case, I suppose. By the way, name’s Applejack. You?” 

The mare’s hoof made a gesture similar to a handshake offer. The stallion took it and smiled. “I’m Nar- Musterstud Storm.” He said, catching himself on his actual name, but not the order that the Southern American pony would know. He didn’t catch this before applejack, however.

“Why y’all talkin’ funny? You from Japoni or what? That’s the only place I heard them do that kinda introduction.” Applejack said, looking at Storm with a bit of intrigue and possibly blushing as well.

“You… could say that.” Storm said, nervously scratching his neck.

“Ah! Well, y’all be restin’ now! I’ll call ya when dinner’s ready.” Applejack said, walking away from the stallion to let him get adjusted to things.

Storm searched around the barn and found some farm tools, a few birthday party supplies, and a hay pile fashioned into the shape of a bed. The party supplies made sense if they held large parties in here, especially if they were ponies, which took more standing room than people usually did. But he was aching all over, so he took the mares’ advice and slept it off.

That Night…

“Wake up, sleepy. Its dinner time. Ya don’t wanna miss dinner, now, do ya?” Applejack said, knocking on the barn door as she spoke. 

The blue stallion awoke groggily, getting up to walk towards the exit of the barn. He was not used to sleeping all day for anybody. And if he did, it would be lazy of him. But it was upon the insistence of a Southern pony with a Technicolor scheme, so he decided to go with the flow on this one. He felt a familiar type of homey-ness with this pony. Storm walked across the farm with Applejack, keeping close. He was still a bit wobbly on his four hooves, but he was definitely getting better. 

When the two reached the actual house, Applejack opened the door for him. He wasn’t sure about the other people in this woman’s family, but he was sure that they were good people at the very least. He entered, and was greeted by an older green pony, who was looking me over with prying eyes. He didn’t know who she was, but because of the picture on her backside, he knew that she was some kinda baker or something along those lines.

“Hmm… Yah must be this… Storm that Applejack informed me about. Well, ya do look as lanky as I thought ya would, bein’ yer from Japony and everythin’. C’mon, join us at th’ table and tell us about yerself. I’m Granny Smith, and it’s nice ta meet ya.” She said, giving a wink to the silver-haired cobalt pony. 

When he reached said table, he saw two other ponies in addition to Applejack and Granny Smith. One was a little girl pony, who was yellow with pinkish red hair and tail styled wildly, and the other was a big, red, male, and brawny farmhand with an orange mullet and short tail. He sat down and smiled sheepishly.

{>“Hello.”
“Watashi wa…”
“Howdy, ya’ll.”}

“Hello. I’m Musterstud Storm. Nice to meet you all.” The blue stallion bowed his head a little.

“C’mon, Mac. Introduce yourself.” Applejack said, nudging the red stallion in the side, two which he reacted, most likely on impulse, by raising his left knees. Applejack blushed at this as she turned away, whistling a nondescript tune that... he remembered Kanji humming at one time. He cleared his throat and spoke in a deep, syrupy country voice.

“Ahm Big MacIntosh. Pleasure ta meet ya.” The red stallion said, using his hoof to gesture.

“And I’m Applebloom. Ahm glad ta meetcha!” The yellow filly said, then noticing his the blue stallion’s cutie mark. “Ooo… What’s yer Cutie Mark mean?”

Storm looked confused, but then remembered the lyre on Lyra’s butt. That must be what a cutie mark is. A butt mark. This kind of thing would get you labeled a pervert on Earth, but whatever.

“Oh, you mean this? Well…”

{“It’s about Personas…”
“It’s about Theatre…”
>“It’s about the Tarot…”}

“…I’m an expert in the Tarot. I can predict the future, if only vaguely, in the cards. But I lost them. I was thinking about getting a new one, but I think I’ll take a break from it while I’m here.” The blue Stallion smiled convincingly. He was an expert at lying, but only outside of his Social Links. And none of these people were any of the Arcana, so he needn’t worry. Applejack was a bit suspicious, but dropped the look she gave the Wild Card and served dinner all around.

Applejack then hugged Applebloom by wrapping here hoof around the yellow filly's back. "So how was school today? Did that meanie Diamond Tiara and her friend pick on you and yer friends again?"

Applebloom frowned. "Not more than usual. Ah can tell Ms. Cheerilee isn't too happy with us fightin', but since Babs was here, she's been doin' it less. She still does, though."

Applejack then snuggled her little sister, when Big MacIntosh's thick voice sweetened this family moment as he embraced the filly and the mare. "Just know that ya can count on us. Just tell us yer problems, and we'll see what we can do."

That’s when Storm had a bit of a hallucination. On Applebloom, a slightly translucent version of the face of Nanako, his “little sis” and cousin, was superimposed onto her, and on Big MacIntosh was the very weathered face of Dojima, his uncle, both of which appeared only temporarily. He shook his head quickly and sighed. This was either really good or really bad. He munched on some salad as he tried to calm himself.

Saturday

Storm yawned as he stretched as he got up from his hay pile. He was now used to the physical aspect of being a pony, now to see what he could do.  He wanted to check on his room and board providers, because he might need some help around town. Applejack seemed like a reliable pony, and being the first pony he met when his Velvet Room assistant was an ass and dumped him here in this farm. When he entered, he saw a happy Applebloom wave at him and eat some oats that were in a bowl, as well as a jovial Applejack sitting alongside her. 

“Howdy, pardner! Have ah nice nap?” The orange mare chuckled, tipping her Stetson up with her hoof.

{> “It was fine.”
“Got a bit.”
“Slept like a baby.”}

“It was fine. Listen, I don’t want to be a burden, but I could use someone to show me around this area. I’m new, after all.” Storm grinned sheepishly.

Applejack immediately became suspicious, yet again, of the terminology that the stallion used. Usually, ponies used ‘somepony’ as the ‘someone’ usage, but there were times when ponies from mixed race cities visited, and they couldn’t exactly use the word. She smiled and nodded instead.

“Well, ah suppose it wouldn’t be too much trouble. Big MacIntosh has a handle o’ the fields for now, and ah can come in a little later. I still have some responsibility, though, so don’t ya be getting any ideas that ahm a Lazypony, y’hear?” Applejack said, pointing a hoof at him. She walked toward him, guiding him to the door.

The trek he took with AJ led to a gaudily candy-colored town known as Ponyville. Storm could already feel his teeth rotting from all the sweetness. Applejack gave the new stallion a crash course in the Layout of Ponyville, starting with the marketplace, going to the other specialty stores.

“That is Caramel’s Metalworks, which sells things tha’ require smeltin’ and things, though he’s been making other things, sayin’ it was his ‘passion’ or somethin’. The one next t’ it is Bon Bon’s Boutique, where she sells candy and other weird confections that’s she’s been experimentin’ with. On the other side o’ the workshop is Berry Punch’s Juice Box, which sells juice… on the days that she doesn’t get drunk on ‘er own product.” Applejack paused to take a breath and then trotted to the next place.

“An’ this is… Well, that ain’t right. This is the Sofa and Quill store, but he’s selling… something called a television. Ah wonder what it is…”

Storm’s eyes went wide. A television? He knew his experience with televisions, and it wasn’t pretty. He had to-

“’Scuse me? Mr. Davenport? Might ah ask what a… television is?” Applejack asked the salespony, genuinely curious.

“Ah, the Princess’ friend! Well, it’s a new product that Twilight entrusted me to sell. After all, she is my number one customer of quills. She said it was inspired by a private session with Celestia, which I don’t get, but I’ll trust her. It’s a box with a magical screen that broadcasts both entertainment and education, at least in theory. That said, do you want one? Only 20 bits.” The well-dressed vendor said, raising his eyebrows in a gesture of enticement.

“Oh? Maybe it can be good…” The orange pony said, contemplating the offer.

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea-” Storm tried to say, hoping to stop what he thought was going to happen from happening.

“If Twi came up with it, ahm sure its worth a try. Ahll take it.”

Storm looked at the mare agape as the exchange took place. This isn’t good… and way too convenient to be happening. They just happened to make a television, thus opening this place up to the T.V. World. This may not be good at all.

Applejack and Davenport exchanged the bits and then the television. The Apple mare put the television onto her back, making sure that the large magical device didn’t suffer a major fall right after purchase. She motioned to the blue stallion, hoping that he would follow her home.

“Ah know it don’ seem right for a country mare like me ta be interested in silly stuff like this, but ah respect Twi and wan’ ta support her in all that ah can do. We’re true, true friends, after all. Besides, there might be somethin’ for Macintosh or Applebloom. Heck, maybe even Granny Smith could get some use outta this.” Applejack continued walking, nudging the heavy television back onto her back.

{“I don’t think this is a good idea…”
>“Is this the best for the family?”
“You’re the boss.”}

“Is this the best for your family? I just want to make sure.” Storm said, trying to approach the topic as best as he felt he should. He knew from the way Applejack interacted with her immediate family that it was supremely important, so talking about a subject through those goggles might be the best way to approach her. Might be useful to remember that in case she becomes a Social Link later, which I think I’ll have to do again from what Lyra said. 

"Ahm not sure, but ah can take a shot at it, right? Besides, it's my friend Twilight's invention. No way ah could pass it up." The orange mare smiled, regarding to the cobalt pony. 

When the pair got back to the farm, Big Mac and Applebloom were there to greet them. Applebloom immediately wondered what the heck it was, and Big Mac was prepping for the immanent transfer to his back, making him gulp as he remembered the cake he had to carry. Applejack tried her best to stay strong, however, as she walked back to the house portion of the Apple Farm, Big Mac nudging the TV back onto her back along the way. Then he took it off of her back and placed it in the Living Room.

Granny Smith looked at the new device with a great deal of skepticism. "This ain't one o' them 'Flim Flam' type conveniences, is it?"

"Nah, Granny. Its an invention by Twilight. It'll let's us be entertained after we work, and it may help Applebloom in her studies." Applejack said, pressing a big black button, turning on the picture to reveal a Stallion doing a Special Report on Sweet Apple Acres and the main mare, Applejack.

...and Applejack, the superstar of Sweet Apple Acres and winner of the Pony of Ponyville Award for 3 straight years. She is a young, spunky mare who has recently become more well known due to her appearances at several high society gatherings such as the Grand Galloping Gala and the Coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle. She is known for her strength in the...

That was when the orange mare blushed. She definately wasn't expecting to have the first thing she and her family to see to be about her. She tipped her Stetson down over her face. The rest of her family laughed, taking pride in the mare's success.

Later that night, when Storm was fast asleep, he heard a large but firm scream. It was definitely an older female, which could only mean one thing on this farm.

"APPLEJACK!" The cobalt pony shouted, getting up and galloping out of the barn toward the now completely lit up Main House. He entered the door, almost bursting the door off of it's hinges. "I heard screaming. Is everyone okay?!"

"Ah heard a scream but...when ah checked on everyone, I saw no Applejack!" Applebloom said, crying her eyes out. "Where is she?!"

Big MacIntosh entered, looking panicked. "Ah couldn't find her, but then the telewatsis came on and she was on it! She was very sleepy, an' was on some kinda... prank show on our farm! Ah tried turning it off, but when ah did, it turned on!"

This is what I was afraid of. The Midnight Channel... but it's so well timed... Why is this one faster than last time? I don't understand this world of Equestria, but I get the feeling that the rules have changed. But I still know what I have to do.

"I have to go." Storm said, galloping out of the Main house.
> Sour Apple Acres and Shadow Applejack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday Morning

The sun was rising as Storm galloped swiftly towards the marketplace. If he was going to rescue the orange mare, he needed supplies. He remembered that Applejack showed him a metal-works shop, which he entered. Apparently, its sunrise openings for some ponies. I'll keep a note of that. He trotted up to the light brown... stallion(?) that he presumed was the Caramel that Applejack told him about.

"Excuse me?! Are you Caramel?!" The cobalt pony said, jittery from the gallop as well as the dire situation.

"Uh... yes. How can I help you? I... uh... work making and repairing tools and accessories." The shy stallion said, nodding lightly. "Do you want to... uh... buy anything?"

"Do you have Sword?!"

"Sword... no... why...?" Caramel said, nervously looking around suspiciously.

"You don't? A mare's life might be in danger! I need something if I'm going to help her! Now, I'm going to ask once again... Do you have a Sword?" Storm said, putting on a forceful tone. He needed something, and he knew that this was most likely the Equestrian equivalent of Diadara, so the passion for art would be there. 

Caramel looked around, wondering if anyone was looking at what he was going to do next. He didn't want anyone to know about his secret passions, especially since it was looked down upon to create or distribute what could be construed as weapons of war. When he finished looking around, he gestured towards the cobalt pony and walked to a stairwell that led down into a red room.

"As long as you don't rat me out to the authorities, I can give you a sword. But only one. After this, you gotta pay." Caramel stated, losing his apparent shyness. He grasped a nice, basic sword in his hoof and handed it to Storm, who luckily grasped it on his first try. "I put it in a saddlebag for you. This is an enchanted saddlebag that holds a vast amount of things without expanding it more than it would normally. I call it a Bag of Holding. Neat, huh?" He said, happily hoofclapping. "My own creation."

The brown stallion outfitted the cobalt pony with the aforementioned saddlebags, causing him to grunt a bit. Caramel then put the sword into one of the saddlebag sides, not expanding the saddlebag at all. Storm looked at it, noticing its grey color and... tarot card clasps? He wondered if it was important, but he didn't have time to worry about it. He turned to the Light Brown stallion and nodded.

"Thank you, and if I'm successful, you'll definitely have a repeat customer." The cobalt stallion affirmed before he galloped out of the store after he ran up the stairs.

Storm galloped to the Sofa and Quill Store, knowing that he would need some sort of portal to get to the T.V. World. Let's hope I can find a display model like the one at Junes. I can't afford a regular one, and even then, I need it in a consistent place. He trotted over to the 'Tele-vision' Section of the store, looking over the display models. A lot of them were extremely small and unable to be jumped into. He did, however, test to see if he could still enter, sticking in his hoof into a smaller television. He was still able to, as the screen turned white and undulated like a viscous fluid. Good, it appears I can still do this.

"Like what you see?" a voice from behind him said, internally scaring him.

{>"I'm just looking around."
"I'm looking to buy."
"I wasn't fondling your television!"}

"Sorry, I'm just looking around. Applejack referred me and I'm interested to see what this is all about." Storm paused, hoping that the salespony would buy the lie that he was spewing. "That said, do you have ones with larger screens?"

The salespony known as Davenport hoofclapped just before he used his hoof to point to the Quill section of the store. "I'm so glad that this invention is driving so much business. I have to thank the Princess the next time I see her. Oh, and its over next to the Quill section. I hope you find what you are looking for."

Storm trotted over to the aforementioned section, looking through the televisions to see which one would be the best one that he could use to jump into. He found one that looked almost identical to the one he used in his own world, except for the fact that the border and box of said display television was rainbow in its color scheme. I guess I can stomach things like this. I've done wors- Never mind. The cobalt stallion looked around to see if the salespony was looking away, and when he was, Storm backed up and tried galloping into the screen, tripping into the display and smoothly entering it despite it. When Davenport went to check on his customer, he was confused to find his prospect was gone.

"Where did he go?"

T.V. World - Hub

Storm awoke in the familiar hub area that he was used to, however, there was one big notable difference. On the floor, instead of the chalk outlines of bodies of his previous TV World hub, was a silver ball with spikes on the top and bottom, as well as it saying "hub" on its face. He wondered what exactly this meant, but he decided to forgo that in exchange for finding his newest friend, if he could even call her that yet. 

He looked around for any sign of a dungeon, as that was the way it worked in his world and there was a lot in common between the worlds. He, however, had the assistance of neither Rise or Teddie, his Radar friends back on Earth. He, however, also noticed that while there was fog, it was significantly less than that of the Earth TV World. Until I either get the hang of it or find a Radar party member, I'll have to deal with finding it myself. It shouldn't be too hard... right?

Storm's eyes widened when he saw a large blur of a building in the distance. He smiled from the revelation, but frowned in concentration while he galloped towards the blur. He soon came into the red swirling entrance which was attached to the entrance to a decrepit farmhouse, specifically the one he's been in for a couple days now. This must be Applejack's Dungeon. However, his analysis was cut short by a pair of shadowy blobs coming from the entrance, forming into the familiar Hablerie enemies. They swiftly charged the stallion, which he reacted to by grabbing the sword out of his bag with his mouth and charging.

The Hableries were just as disgusting as they normally were. The purple tongues of the two laughing mouths slipped around, drool flying everywhere. They also retained their traditional striped pattern, this one being a garish pattern of black and pink. As they charged, Storm remembered that he had an advantage over them somehow, but he couldn't remember. Something about the "L1 Button" to see an analysis. At least its not BEARY good. The cobalt pony leered at the enemies, thus bringing up a small amount of information about the blubbering mouth monsters, such as their weakness: Electricity.

"Now, how to summon..." Storm said, taking a slice at one of the disgusting adversaries. "I have no hands, although these hooves can apparently hold thi- GAHH!"

Storm's audible thought process was interrupted by the two tongues of the monsters licking him. He didn't take too kindly to that. That's when the card that appeared on his rump lifted from the ground, signaling him to stop and let his body do what it was going to do. He lifted his forelegs and sent it straight down, causing it to break.

"Izanagi!" The stallion shouted, signaling for the metallic Japanese god to come out and preform a lightning "Zio" attack. It sent one of the Hableries down, giving Storm and his buddy god another action. Storm repeated the action verbatim, destroying the non-downed mouth monster. That's when the other monster rose up, but another slash to its face proved that action futile.

He faced the doorway's twisted portal, a bit hesitant to go in. However, he knew that Applejack was in trouble and he needed to help her. 

Sour Apple Acres

Storm trotted forward, only to gasp and cough when a ripe smell entered his nose holes. The barn was filled to the brim with apples, which made sense since the real version of this place, except for the fact that most of the apples were rotten and mushy. He heard squishing noises coming from further inside, which he used to follow to the action. 

When he arrived there, he saw Applejack, disgruntled and barely conscious. She was breathing heavily and her Stetson hat was flung off. The stallion went over to help her when he started hearing those familiar self deprecating statements that always precede bad happenings.

"Biting off more than you can chew is just what ahm afraid of."

Storm recognized that very deep, sultry country accent as Big Macintosh, Applejack's older brother. He had only met him for a while, but he recognized the voice quite clearly. He didn't know the history behind the comment, but he knew that, given this context, it must've been particularly resonant with the orange mare.

"Applejack, you had us so caught up in all the doin', we haven't had a second to enjoy the company of the folks we've been doin' it with!"

And that was Granny Smith, talking about some sort of reunion. To this, Applejack started to stand up, groaning in frustration as the deprecating queries apparently hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I don't care what you say! YOU. NEED. HELP!"

Applejack finally barked. "Who's talking?! Who's there?! Twilight?!" She looked around, grabbing her Stetson hat as the squishing stopped.

A malevolent yawn cut through the air, followed by a distant laughter. The orange mare turned toward the sound, Storm doing the same. Applejack gasped as she stared at a sleepy reflection of herself, the hooves of the apparent double covered in apple mush, leaning up against a barrel of apple cider in the manner of a human. She still bore her trademark Stetson, but her green eyes were replaced with an eerie yellow color, along with a creepy purplish aura.

"Ah don't need no help from no pony, that's the truth. Or is it? Ahm so caught up with all the little things that ah forget about the meanin' of it all. Ah buck apples, day in and day out, but ahm only lyin' to myself: Ah don't need help. The truth is, ah need that help, or ah'd be useless. Ah use that big bravado to push others away so ah can do it all mahself. Fail all by mahself. Ah can't handle lettin' go o' that Apple Family pride."

Applejack stood, paralyzed. She was looking for the words to retort what the doppelganger with the purple aura was saying, but all she could muster up was apathetic. "Stop it..."

"How can ah be the mom o' the group if ahm the most immature? Well, scratch that, I'm the best. Ahm the ONLY one who doesn't need to learn a lesson. Ever. I'm the best and they're losers, because ahm the honest one. Ahm the biggest liar in the group, if ah say so myself!" The Doppelmare said, putting heavy sarcasm on the word "honest".

"Stop it... I'm not..."

"Ah shucks, look at me goin' on and on when ah know full well what ahm talkin' about. After all, ahm you, through and through."

Applejack apparently had enough. She began to quiver, glaring at the glowing eyes of the mirror mare. Storm knew not to try to stop it, as it was pointless. That's what Kanji taught him right before the Shadow Naoto fight. All the stallion did was bare his weapon and prepare for a fight.

"What are ya', a loony pony?! Ah ain't like this, and besides, we closed up the Mirror Pond ages ago. Nothin' you say is the truth. And ahm the Element of Honesty! Ah ain't nothin' like you!" Applejack shouted with confidence.

"Ah am you. Your shadow. All those little regrets, those issues you refuse ta face? That's me. Ahm very much you."

"Shadow? What the-? Ah've got no idea what you're talkin' about, but YOU AIN'T ME!"

The admission was all the Shadow needed, as the Applejack clone began to be engulfed in a bright light with twinges of red and black peppering the outer edges. The sleepy doppelmare smiled wildly as her form began to change, mutating in a sea of dark flames. This was causing major strain on Applejack's mind, causing her to faint. Her Shadow's new form was a stallion pony with gruff fur all over the body, but the grunts she expended were female. The Shadow's body was stretched to accommodate the large apple trees that were sprouting from her back, their 'bark', or should we say skin, straining to stretch to cover it. The Shadow's eyes were bleeding from the strain, but were covered with small wings. Her Stetson formed into large bull horns that weighed her head down. The monstrosity grunted and attacked Storm.

"Ah am the shadow... the true self!"

Storm was hit by a large wave of leaves, apples, and wind, causing him to fall. He remembered that he was particularly affected by the Wind Element with Izanagi. The mare's shadow laughed, Power Charging for her next attack.

"Ah can handle it all by mahself, see! The Apple Family will be the greatest family with me around!"

Storm grunted and got up, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. He settled on analyzing her, because he needed to know whatever he could about her. However, all that came up was a clearer picture of the monstrosity and its Tarot Arcana, which was Reverse Justice. He sighed as he was no better than Teddie at his job, but he stomped on his card and did a Zio attack, causing the Shadow to fall and giving him another turn. He used this turn to use a Cleave attack, which dealt moderate damage.

Shadow Applejack growled in pain as she got up. The shadow monster was feeling the weight of the near parasitic apple trees, and it was angering her. She used this anger and the previous Power Charge to deal a devastating Applebuck directly to Storm's face, causing a good deal of damage, but not a critical hit. Storm then retaliated with another Cleave. At this point, Shadow Applejack was getting a bit tired, so she defended herself with her sticky hooves.

Storm was confused by this choice of action until the Shadow spoke again. "Leave me alone! I can handle it! Honest!" That signaled another attack was coming, so Storm put his hooves in front of his face and prepped himself for a big strike. He was right on the bit, as the Shadow opened its eyewings to show its bloody eyes and shook its apple trees and hit him with wind damage again, this time not resulting in another turn. "Stop telling me what I can and can't do, varmint!" 

Storm could tell that he was close to beating it, as it started wobbling heavily. However, he was quite close to death himself, as he was starting to breathe heavily. I was in too much of a rush. Next time: check Bon Bon's store before going into the dungeon. If he could just get another Zio streak on the stalliomare thing, he'd win the fight and save Applejack. However, if he missed even one of the strikes with the spells, he'd potentially doom both him and Applejack. He focused on his card as he lifted his hooves, pressing them down with great force.

"Persona!" Storm shouted as Izanagi, his persona, appeared and casted a lighting attack, hitting the shadow down. He quickly repeated his actions, thus silencing the Shadow.

"Ah failed you, papi!" The Shadow shrieked as it collapsed on the floor.

Then Applejack awoke, her head killing her. She stood up weakly as her body slowly regained strength. She stared into the eyes of the now standing Shadow of herself, tears beginning to well up inside of her. She hung her head, sighing as she knew what she had to do.

"Ahm sorry, sugarcube. Ah've been so callous. Ah want to help everypony, but I end up hurtin' everypony. I know I made a promise to be brave and ask for help, but... ah dunno if ah can. Ahm the worst. Ah can't even represent mah Element when ahm lyin' so much to myself. Ah've... seen the consequences. So, ta make it up to ya..." Applejack admitted, walking closer to the now wide-eyed and emotionless Shadow. "Ah am you. Everything you said is the absolute truth. You are a better Element of Honesty than ah am."

The Shadow gave a slight nod and began to glow. The form dissipated, revealing a blue winged angel with a red crystal heart. Its long, flowing hair was put into a country braid, and its crystal skin glistened even in the dark barn area they were in. It was a human-esque shape, but it had the slender muzzle and small hooves of a pony mare.

The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest...

Applejack has faced her other self...

She has obtained the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Virtue!

A tarot card, the same type of card dissolved into blue light and entered Applejack's body. The card in question had both a sword and the Roman numeral VIII, signaling that this was a Justice persona. At this development, Applejack collapsed, Stetson  still attached to her head. She looked up at Storm, who had caught her. She had a fake look of disgust at him, which broke into a smile.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do after ah rest up. You know more than you let on, ah can tell that much. Ah expect the truth, y'hear?" The orange mare stated hoarsely. She picked herself up and started to walk towards the exit, Storm following close behind as he stored his sword in his tossed saddlebag.

"Okay. I'll tell you everything. But promise you'll keep it a secret from everyone else, alright?" Storm conceded.

"Everypony." Applejack corrected, causing the two of them to laugh as they walked back.