Tuesday, October 20, 2015 / Early Morning
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Life is not a video game. You can't hit reset if you lose.

Celestia joins us for breakfast, still clad in a nightgown and robe. Her legs and feet are bare, and she crosses them primly as she sits. I'm not the only one staring at this particular spectacle.

She looks around at all of us as she takes a sip of coffee. "Just so you know, if any of you calls me 'Longlegstia', you'll have double detention for a month." She quirks a smile.

Pinkie ducks under the table suddenly...rather uncomfortably near my seat.

"Uhh, Pinkie? What are you doing?" Twilight asks.

"Checking for boners," Pinkie says matter-of-factly. Her head pops up over the table and she smiles broadly. "Nope! One hundred percent boner-free!"

"HEY!" I shout, pushing Pinkie away.

Twilight groans. "Pinkie..."

As Pinkie heads to the kitchen to bring out the food, Celestia stares after her. "Is...is she always like this?"

"Lately? Yes," Twilight says. "She's always...random, but she's never been quite as..."

"Dirty-minded?" Rarity suggests.

"Yes, that," Twilight says. "That's...pretty much a recent development."

"I see," Celestia says. For some reason, she's eyeing me speculatively. "Well, as long as it doesn't develop into a more serious problem..."

"I think it might just be her way of venting frustration," I say. "She's having family problems and she had to give up tennis for her part-time job."

"Ah," Celestia says, nodding thoughtfully. Pinkie returns, and the conversation abruptly ends.

After breakfast, Twilight and I walk Spike. "This is too weird," she says. "Having the principal at the dorm, just...being..." She flails a hand expressively. "It's just weird."

"I found out something interesting last night," I say. "They already knew I didn't post that picture."

"What?!" Twilight cries. "Then why—"

"There's something going on here," I say, shrugging. "Something bigger than just some bullying. I don't know what it is, but..." I look down at Spike. "We need to be careful."

Twilight nods. "So, are we...going to Zodiac today?"

"After school, yeah," I say. "We'd best arrange for Cadance to meet up with us as soon as I'm out of Music Club. We can do a Zodiac run then be back at the dorm without raising any suspicion."

"Okay," Twilight says.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 / After School

At Music Club, Trixie approaches me. "Do you still wish for Trixie to perform at Pinkie Pie's birthday party?"

"Yeah, if you're free. It's next Wednesday."

Trixie nods. "My schedule is open that day."

"Great," I say. I smile. "You might even make some more friends."

"New friends..." Trixie takes a deep breath. "I hope...I can make a good impression."

"You'll do fine," I say. "Look how much progress you've made with the Music Club!"

"This is true," Trixie says.

The rest of the club meeting passes uneventfully. After the meeting, I pack up my things and head out to the parking lot, where Cadance and Twilight are waiting in the SUV. I stow my gear in the back; Cadance and Twilight get out. We all nod to each other and pull out our phones...

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 / Zodiac

Once the familiar red-and-black stillness of Zodiac settles in, we gather around the back of the SUV while Cadance pulls out our supplies. "I have a new Persona to test out today," I say.

Twilight blinks. "Huh? But...how? I thought you only got new Personas when you couldn't fight whatever Shadows you're dealing with..."

"Remember when I told you about that Velvet Room place, and the man there?" Twilight nods. "Don't ask how, but he's able to take two of my existing Personas and create a new one."

"What, like breeding toy monsters in that one video game?" Cadance asks.

"I guess," I say, shrugging.

"But...do you lose your other Personas?" Twilight asks.

I look at my phone's Persona app to double-check that I have not, in fact, lost any Personas. "They're all still there."

Cadance shakes her head. "I don't know which is the bigger mystery, Zodiac or you."

"Right now I'm more worried about who the fuck hacked my computer," I say. "This shit, I can deal with." I smile. "Shame I can't summon Chiron in the real world. Nobody would ever mess with any of us ever again."

Twilight frowns. "Flash...don't say things like that. It's...it's a little creepy."

I sigh. "Sorry. I'm just..." I pick up my axe. "Let's just do what we came here to do."

Cadance summons Aphrodite. "Hmm...the Shadows are a little stronger today, but nothing worse than you've already fought. Just stay on your guard."

A text suddenly floats in front of the three of us.

You're all going to die next week.

We look at one another uncertainly.

You can't defeat Scorpio. You should give up.

"That's not gonna happen," I say.

You're fools. If you think you're making a difference...

"I'm still alive, so he's already made a difference!" Twilight says.

Zodiac is stronger than you. You're wasting your time...and you have so very little left...

Twilight and I ignore this and head into the school. We spend the next hour and a half fighting Shadows; we don't run into anything we haven't faced before, but the texts foretelling our deaths keep following us all over the school.

My new Persona may look strange, but it turns out to be quite useful; it has both fire and ice skills, as well as the ability to weaken the Shadows' defense. Twilight's Persona gains the ability to target multiple Shadows with her lightning at once.

Once we're done for the day, we leave Zodiac, stow our gear in the SUV, and return to the dorm.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 / Evening

After spending so much time in Zodiac, I don't have the energy for much more than dinner and homework. Twilight is similarly worn out; she eats half again as much as usual at dinner, then heads straight for her room, hardly saying a word to anyone.

"Goodness," Celestia says once Twilight is gone. "Does...does she always eat like that?"

"She's a frickin' black hole," Rainbow Dash says, shaking her head. "I don't know where she puts it all. I'm an athlete and I don't pack it in the way she does."

"At least she isn't wiping her face with her food anymore," I say. "Don't get me wrong, I love Twilight, but...watching her eat can be terrifying." I smirk. "At least I can afford to feed her when we go out."

The others laugh. I finish up my own dinner, then head to my room. While I do my homework, I think back to today's odd little "conversation" in Zodiac.

I'm not entirely sure if that was supposed to intimidate us...or if somebody genuinely doesn't want us to die...

Author's Notes:

Social Link Status:

0. FOOL (Zodiac Investigation Team): rank 2
I. MAGICIAN (Twilight Sparkle): rank 7
IV. EMPEROR (Coach Shining Armor): rank 4
VI. LOVERS (Nurse Cadance): rank 5
VII. CHARIOT (Rainbow Dash): rank 4
VIII. JUSTICE (Principal Celestia): rank 1
IX. HERMIT (Coco Pommel): rank 6
XV. DEVIL (Juan the Janitor): rank 2
XVII. STAR (Pinkie Pie): rank 5
XVIII. MOON (Trixie Lulamoon): rank 6 (Rank UP!)
XIX. SUN (Vinyl Scratch): rank 3

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Cadance's Analysis Time!

ARA MITAMA
Arcana: Chariot
Strong against: Strike attacks
Weak against: Electricity
Skills: Agi, Assault Dive, Rakunda, Me Patra, Mabufu