Persona 6: REM
Chapter 18: 9/23
Previous Chapter Next ChapterSeptember 23rd, 2019
Sunday
Sunny
Morning
As Starlight walked downstairs she noticed Rainbow Dash sitting on the couch with a bunch of books. Just from a distance it looked like they were books on magic and other esoteric subjects.
“Where did you get all of those?” Starlight asked Rainbow Dash, her focus on one really large and complicated looking book.
“Twilight’s room,” Rainbow Dash explained, “Went to see her before she went to bed and asked if she had any books on witchcraft. I figured if I’m a witch now, I might as well read up on it.”
Starlight was really happy to see her taking this so seriously. Still, the idea that Rainbow Dash could handle reading books from Twilight’s library was scary. Just how smart was this girl?
“Hey, think we should name our coven?” Rainbow Dash asked finally looking up at Starlight, “You know, for the sake of unifying us under one name or some shit like that?”
“Probably should,” Starlight said leaning over the back of the couch, “Not sure what to call us, though.”
“Whatever it is, it’s gotta have meaning behind it,” Rainbow Dash said, “It can’t be dark for the sake of being dark, you know?”
“No, I get you,” Starlight said, “A lot of the modern day covens I’ve seen try to sound dark and edgy because it’s cool, but in reality they’re just angsty teenagers.”
“Exactly, but not us. We’re the real deal,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Hey, what ‘cha talking about?” Trixie asked walking out of the kitchen over to them.
“I’m thinking we need to name ourselves,” Rainbow Dash said, “Something that sounds cool without being too dark and edgy.”
“How about Sister’s of the Phase?” Trixie suggested.
“That sounds cool, but no one actually knows what the Phase even is, you know?” Rainbow Dash said, “We go with a name like that, and people will start asking questions like “what’s the Phase” or something.”
“Mmm, yeah you’re right,” Trixie folded her arms, “Coming up with names is hard, especially if we’re going with something meaningful.”
“What about you, Leader?” Rainbow Dash asked Starlight, “You know more about this witch stuff than we do.”
Starlight thought about it for a bit, but nothing immediately came to mind. There was a time where she wanted to name her coven “Daughters of Hades” but she openly admitted that was in her edgy teen phase. Once she swore to become a witch for the light, she realized naming her coven after the Greek God of the underworld wasn’t sending the right message.
“I need to think on this for a bit,” Starlight told her friends.
“That’s fair,” Trixie said, “This is a dream come true for you, after all.”
“Whatever you come up with, I’m sure it’ll be perfect,” Rainbow Dash said, “We’re counting on you, Leader.”
That was seriously going to take some getting used to. But it was nice that they trusted her to come up with something good. She’d have to make sure it really fit with the overall theme of what they were doing.
Once she finished eating breakfast she decided to go up and check on Pinkie Pie. Apparently she didn’t eat much, and went back upstairs to her room afterward.
“Pinkie Pie, it’s me,” Starlight said knocking on her door. She heard movement, and a few seconds later Pinkie Pie opened the door slightly.
“Hi Starlight…” Pinkie Pie said somberly.
“How are you feeling?” Starlight asked, “Any better since Friday?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a bit better,” Pinkie Pie said averting her eyes, “I’ll be okay, Starlight.”
“Are you sure? I’m worried about you,” Starlight said, “I haven’t known you long, but seeing you this upset feels wrong. If there’s anything you want to talk about-”
“No,” Pinkie Pie shook her head backing away a bit, “I don’t want to talk. Right now, I just… I want to be alone.”
Starlight sighed internally. It seemed Pinkie Pie wasn’t going to open up much yet. Starlight relented and told Pinkie Pie that whenever she wanted to talk, she’d be there.
“T-thanks Starlight,” Pinkie Pie said before shutting the door. Starlight was getting really concerned about Pinkie Pie. Based on how she looked just now, Starlight was wondering just how much time they actually bought her.
Since she didn’t see Celestia downstairs at breakfast, she figured she was probably upstairs in her room. Starlight ran up to the fourth floor and knocked on the door.
“Just a minute,” Celestia called out, opening the door a second or so later, “Starlight, is something wrong?”
“I want to go back into Pinkie Pie’s dream tonight,” Starlight requested, “I don’t think we bought her a lot of time.”
“Neither do I, being completely honest,” Celestia said folding her arms, “Her nightmare is progressing much faster than Trixie’s did. Alright, take your team into the Phase tonight. Please be careful in there, honey.”
Starlight promised and went back downstairs to let Trixie and Rainbow Dash know they were going back into the Phase. Needless to say, both of them were happy to hear that.
Late night
The Phase
When Starlight opened her eyes she saw Rainbow Dash and Trixie already there waiting for her. A second later Twilight’s wisp joined them.
“Good, everyone’s here,” Twilight said.
“Rainbow Dash was actually here before anyone,” Trixie said, turning to their newest member sitting at a table reading a book, “Apparently she went to bed early and waited here for us.”
“How are you holding up?” Starlight asked Rainbow Dash, sitting on the table next to her.
“I’m fine, it’s Pinkie Pie I’m worried about,” Rainbow Dash closed her book, “I’m not sure, but I think she’s dreading something.”
“Okay, so it’s not just me,” Trixie said, “You guys felt it too.”
“We need to head into her Dungeon and see if we can find a clue as to what that is. I get the feeling Fleur’s going to try something soon.”
Starlight was about to lead her team into the Dungeon, but stopped when she saw a familiar figure sitting at another table off in the distance. Next to a familiar looking elevator door and reading a book was Victor.
“Hey, I’ll be right back,” Starlight said, “I need to prepare for this.”
Starlight walked over to Victor, who greeted her with his usual kind but lust filled smile.
“Greetings, Miss Glimmer. The Master has prepared a means for you to enter the Velvet Room within the dream realm as well as the Real World,” Victor explained, eyes falling a tad lower, “Which I must say, while you are perfect no matter what, I certainly prefer you like this.”
Realizing where his eyes were would have normally made Starlight feel really bashful and embarrassed, but here she almost felt like flirting back. Internally she wondered why she felt so different in the dream world.
“Feel free to enjoy the view while I talk with your Master,” Starlight said airily, “Please.”
Victor rose up from his chair and elegantly kissed Starlight’s knuckles before standing to the side of the door. Starlight pulled out her Velvet Key and opened the door, immediately greeted by the sound of a familiar melody.
“Welcome, to the Velvet Room,” Igor said smiling as Starlight sat down before him.
“I want to fuse a few Personas,” Starlight said, crossing her legs and resting on the left arm of her chair. She felt so powerful sitting like this.
“I’m quite pleased you’re making such use of my services,” Igor said, pride filling his voice, “Before we get to fusion however, I’d like to share with you something Victor and I have created for Morgana. We call it, Persona Harvesting.”
“Persona Harvesting?” Starlight asked.
“Under normal circumstances one’s starting Persona reaches a skill cap,” Victor explained, “At this point, they can’t learn any new skills. Through Persona Harvesting however, we’ll be able to feed Morgana the power of another Persona,” sensing her apprehension at this, Victor chuckled, “Don’t worry. As long as you have the Persona registered, you can call it back from the Compendium anytime.”
Okay, now that she knew that, she felt better about this. She wanted to make Morgana stronger, but she sort of saw each Persona she collected like a new friend.
First she registered all of her current Personas. After that, she willed all of her Personas to appear in her hand as cards. After careful consideration, she chose to use Obaryion for this demonstration. As she handed Igor the card, she felt Morgana manifest behind her.
Igor took the card and concentrated his energy into it, causing the card to glow. He then threw the card into the air, and Starlight saw the most terrifying thing ever. Morgana flew up after the card, her torso opened revealing what looked like black teeth or blades that reached out for the card, and then essentially ate the card and the Persona inside of it.
At first Starlight felt bad for the little guy. That changed when she felt a sudden burst of energy from Morgana. Not only had she become stronger overall, but two new spells came to Starlight. Sukunda and Snap.
“Thank you, my pupil. My power grows because of your tribute.”
Starlight nodded to Morgana smiling. She really was more psychologically connected to Morgana than her other Personas, it seemed.
Before she left, she chose to fuse a few more Personas. First she chose Silky and Succubus, the resulting Persona being a powerful looking knight riding a red horse. The name “Berith” came to mind immediately, and she felt a number of physical skills from him.
Yeah, keeping him, Starlight thought.
Satisfied with this build, and wanting to make sure she had room for new Personas when she met them, she thanked both Igor and Victor for their service.
“Good luck in your friend’s Dungeon,” Igor said. Starlight seriously got the feeling he was more personal with her than most of his other guests. Why, she had no idea. Either way, she was thankful for not only his help, but for his presence.
When she returned to her friends, they all looked at her a bit confused.
“Where were you just now?” Trixie asked, “You were there, and suddenly you just… weren’t.”
Right, they couldn’t see the door. Since they were the realm of dreams she expected to physically enter the door, but she wasn’t sure how that would look. She explained to them that she was in the Velvet Room.
“That creepy elevator place?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Hey, as long as it helped you get stronger, that’s all that matters.”
“Now, are you finally ready to head out?” Twilight asked a bit impatient.
“Yes, let’s go,” Starlight said, leading her team to the Checkpoint they opened last time they entered. She had a feeling they’d have to start heading toward the village, but just in case they missed something here it was better to play it safe.
The checkpoint let the girls off in a hallway in the fortress. Starlight looked around and was surprised to see the entire fortress was still empty.
“That’s odd,” Twilight said, “No Shadows around anywhere in the fortress.”
“Maybe it’s because we cleared out that big Shadow,” Trixie said, “He seemed like he was the leader.”
“That’s not how Shadows work, though,” Twilight said, “For as intelligent as they are, they still follow a set pattern.”
Rainbow Dash walked over to a banner on the wall and examined it closely, “Guys, I think I know why this place is empty,” she called out, “This look familiar to anyone?”
Starlight walked over to check out the banner herself. It only took a few seconds for it to register where she saw that. That was the school banner!
“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, “Why is the school banner here?”
“I think I get it,” Trixie looked around, “To Pinkie Pie, this fortress represents the school. Remember how it looked like she was being raped last time we were here?”
“You think that was an abstract representation of the harassment she went through at school,” Starlight said. Trixie nodded.
“It was the same for me. When I started feeling like I had no allies in school, the Shadows all started to really get off on seeing me suffer. One time I tried escaping, and one of the Shadows representing a patron grabbed me and brought me back to Blueblood as soon as I made it out to the forest.”
“From there, it makes sense that the Shadows would clear out then,” Twilight said, “She’s avoiding school, and I imagine she’s even staying off social media for the same reason. She has no idea how the other students are feeling about her right now.”
“But she also has to know that she can’t stay away from school forever, so maybe…” Starlight gasped, “We need to find her, fast! I know why this place is empty!”
“Shit, I get it!” Rainbow Dash swore, “They’re all wherever Pinkie Pie is probably trying to bring her back here!”
“I can’t get a lock on her location right now!” Twilight said, apparently typing on her computer outside, “Damn it! She could be anywhere!”
“Follow me!” Rainbow Dash said running down the hall, “I know the way to the village!”
Starlight and Trixie followed Rainbow Dash out of the fortress’ left exit into the dark forest. Despite the dark atmosphere, Starlight felt a lot of magic in the air.
“Are you sure she’s in the village?” Trixie asked as they carefully moved through the trees.
“She’s either there, or somewhere in between,” Rainbow Dash said, “There are only three major locations here, and the forest is pretty big.”
“Did you memorize the layout of the dream?” Twilight asked.
“Sorta. It wasn’t easy since I kept ending up in different sections of the dream, but I quickly learned where most of the landmarks were,” Rainbow Dash said.
Starlight suddenly felt like they were being watched. Not just by the dream itself, but by someone or something in the dream. She looked toward Trixie and noticed a branch shaped like a hand moving toward her.
“Get down!” Starlight cried pushing Trixie out of the way before the tree grabbed her. Instead, it grabbed Starlight.
“Starlight!” Trixie cried.
“Leave it to me!” Rainbow Dash said getting her sword ready, “Persona!”
Eclair manifested before Rainbow Dash, and the two of them started slashing wildly at the tree. When they both turned around and sheathed their blades, the tree exploded releasing Starlight.
“Thanks,” Starlight said rising to her feet and readying her scythe.
“Don’t mention it, Leader,” Rainbow Dash said, the three witches now standing back to back surrounded by trees that were clearly alive.
“Are these Shadows?” Trixie asked, throwing a few cards at one of the trees cutting it’s branches off before it could grab her.
“I think they’re manifestations of the dream itself!” Twilight cried, “Whatever you do, do NOT let those things grab you, Starlight!”
“I don’t see you in here fighting tree monsters!” Starlight shot back, slashing through another tree with her scythe.
“That’s a real shame, too. Then maybe I could show you a thing or two about not getting captured every five seconds!”
“Hey, could we NOT have this lovers spat right now?!” Rainbow Dash said, slashing through two trees, “I don’t know why, but I feel Pinkie Pie! I think she’s close!”
“Then I’ll clear a path! Burn them to ashes, Elenora!” Trixie shouted summoning her Persona. Elenora proceeded to throw a series of fireballs at the trees to make a path forward, “There!”
“Move! Before they regroup!” Starlight shouted. The three girls and wisp proceeded through the trees, all of which reached out to grab them.
“Hey! I think a few of the trees are following you!” Twilight shouted. Starlight looked behind them and sure enough, saw a couple trees following after them.
“Keep moving!” Starlight commanded, “I’ll take them out!”
Starlight stopped and turned to her foes, summoning Morgana to her side. She then slammed her scythe’s blade into the ground in front of her, and Morgana opened her torso again, this time revealing what appeared to be the barrel of a large gun.
“Snap!” Starlight ordered, casting one of the new spells. Morgana’s chest gun opened fire on the trees and breaking them apart. Once they were gone, Starlight ran after her friends, who were waiting for them in a clearing.
end song
“What… is going on in Pinkie Pie’s head?!” Trixie cried trying to catch her breath, “This forest is straight out of a hentai!”
“I don’t like this at all.” Twilight said, “Hold on! I’m picking up Pinkie Pie’s signature!”
“Where?!” Rainbow Dash asked.
“RAINBOW DASH!” a familiar voice screamed ahead.
“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash cried running in the direction of the scream, Trixie, Twilight, and Starlight closely following behind.
They didn’t have to run long, as they soon found Pinkie Pie, held up against one of the largest trees there by it's branches, two Shadow knights attempting to fight it off. Based on the number of corpses around them, they were probably the only ones left.
“DASHIE, HELP ME!” Pinkie Pie screamed trying to reach out, but one of the branches grabbed her arm and held it back, forcing another shrill scream from the helpless Princess.
“Let her go you overgrown pile of kindling!” Rainbow Dash shouted running toward the tree, only to be smacked away by another branch.
“Rainbow Dash!” Starlight cried.
“Oh no you don’t!” one of the knights shouted turning to Starlight and Trixie, “Empress Fleur ordered us to kill you all on sight! The tree can wait!”
Both shadows melted away, revealing their true forms. One was another Jack Frost, but the one who spoke to them before turned into a new Shadow. This one looked vaguely like a bird, but it’s body looked like the feathers had all been plucked, and it’s head was shaped more like an onion with a mouth and shut eyes. It’s neck was long with black stripes, and ever so often it spouted fire out of it’s mouth.
“The new one’s ID is Onmoraki!” Twilight said, “No wonder Pinkie Pie was so tense! She’s probably been here since Saturday night!”
“Rainbow Dash, get Pinkie Pie out of that tree!” Starlight commanded, “Trixie and I will keep the Shadows off you!”
“Got it, Leader!” Rainbow Dash pointed her sword, “Don’t worry, Pinkie Pie! I’m going to get you out of there!”
Rainbow Dash charged at the tree as it lashed it’s branches out at her. Meanwhile, Starlight and Trixie both had their hands full with their opponents, both of which charged at them and began fighting them close quarter.
Trixie rolled out of the way of Onmoroki’s attack and summoned her Persona, casting Sukujaka on Rainbow Dash, “There! That should give you a speed boost!”
“Thanks!” Rainbow Dash shouted summoning Eclair. She was about to cast Zio, but stopped herself, “Shoot! If it doesn’t stand still I can’t be sure I won’t hit Pinkie Pie!”
Starlight swore to herself realizing that herself, but then noticed Onmoroki casting an odd looking spell. She looked underneath Trixie and saw a black magic circle form underneath her, “Trixie, dodge!”
“Huh? Whoa!” Trixie jumped out of the way just as the magical circle exploded, “That didn’t look pretty!”
“Shoot! I think it cast Mudo!” Twilight cried, “Know how before I said don’t get hit? Well, that spell’s an INSTANT DEATH SPELL!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Trixie cried summoning her Persona, “Alright chicken, prepare to be roasted!” Elenora threw an Agi spell at the tiny “bird” Shadow, only for it to endure the attack without much damage, “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!”
Onmoroki charged at Trixie and flew around her, once again casting its Mudo and targeting her.
“She can’t dodge it this time!” Twilight cried, “Starlight, do something!”
“Right!” she kicked Jack Frost away from her and turned to Trixie, “MORGANA!”
Morgana opened her chest and fired her new projectile spell at Onmoroki, actually knocking it to the ground and canceling the spell.
“Thanks for that!” Trixie said, summoning Elenora again and casting Agi on Jack Frost, knocking it to its back, “Want to try and take one of these guys into your ring?”
Starlight nodded and reached out to both of them. Both resonated, and she wanted to go for Jack Frost. Something told her that instant kill spell would be a bit more useful though. She cast Empathy on Onmoroki, feeling a sensation that could only be described as “tsundere like” from it.
Honestly, it kind of felt like Twilight.
The tiny Shadow perked up, and made an almost happy cry before bursting into flames and flying into Starlight’s ring. Just as she suspected, Jack Frost escaped in the confusion.
As for Rainbow Dash, she had resorted to simply using her blade to slash the branches away from herself before they could reach her. She tried rushing over to grab Pinkie Pie, but once again one of the branches whacked her back. This time she caught herself mid air and landed next to Starlight and Trixie.
“It’s too fast, even with that speed up spell you gave me!” Rainbow Dash said, “And if I use Zio, I might hit Pinkie Pie!”
“I’ll slow it down with Morgana,” Starlight said stepping forward, “Trixie, focus on healing and using your cards on the branches to keep them off Rainbow Dash.”
Trixie nodded, “Got it!”
“Rainbow Dash, once you get an opening, grab Pinkie Pie. Once she’s free, we’ll hit it with an All Out Attack,” Starlight continued.
“Understood, Leader!” Rainbow Dash said bracing herself to charge.
Starlight started out by casting Sukunda on the tree monster, slowing it’s movements considerably. At the same time, Trixie cast Dia on Rainbow Dash healing her, and then proceeded to throw cards at the branches that reached out for them.
“Now!” Starlight shouted.
Rainbow Dash rushed toward the tree as fast as she could. One of it’s branches reached out to grab her, but was then shot away by one of Morgana’s bullets. Now with nothing standing in her way, Rainbow Dash jumped and slashed wildly at the branches holding Pinkie Pie to the tree, before picking her up and kicking away from the tree back to the others.
“Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie Pie, who immediately embraced Rainbow Dash tightly.
“I am now! Thank you, Dashie!” she cried happily.
“Don’t thank us yet!” Trixie said, “I think we made the tree mad!”
The tree started flailing around even more, actually reaching further out as if to grab Pinkie Pie again. It was so bad that both Morgana and Elenora had to hold it back.
“Don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash said softly to Pinkie Pie, “I won’t let that thing get you again.”
Pinkie Pie said nothing. She just nodded, her cheeks rosy with a light blush.
Rainbow Dash stepped in between her friends and held up her Channeling Ring and sword, “Come forth, my inner self!”
Eclair appeared behind Rainbow Dash and held up her blade, causing a lightning bolt to shook down onto the tree monster. Apparently that hit a critical point, because the tree hunched over not moving.
“All Out Attack, go!” Starlight commanded. The three of them readied their weapons and unleashed everything they had on the demonic tree. It did not survive that assault, and was instantly broken apart.
Rainbow Dash let out a relieved breath and sheathed her sword, “Glad that’s over,” before she could turn to ask if Pinkie Pie was okay, she felt said princess wrap her arms around her from behind.
“Thank you…!” Pinkie Pie sobbed, letting her tears flow freely as she tightened the embrace, “I kept crying out for you, just like you told me to… and you came…! You really came…!”
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and held Pinkie Pie’s hand, “Of course I came. A knight always comes to her Princess’ aid.”
“Aw, how touching. It makes me sick.”
Starlight and Trixie both turned to late as a black blast knocked them back. Rainbow Dash turned around and pushed Pinkie Pie behind her.
“Fleur!” she shouted.
“Non non non, this won’t do at all, ma chere,” Shadow Fleur said sauntering toward her, “I can’t have the story end just yet.”
“You bitch…!” Rainbow Dash said through gritted teeth, “You set all of this up to torture her, didn’t you…?!”
“It’s true that my magic is what made the trees attack, but that’s a spell I cast a long time ago,” Shadow Fleur explained, “Can’t have the Princesse thinking she has a safe place to hide from me. Now, viens Princesse. It’s time to return you to the castle.”
“Like hell it is…!” Rainbow Dash seethed, electricity coursing through her body and condensing on her blade, “You’re not touching her… ever, again! ECLAIR, AWAKEN!”
Eclair manifested in front of Rainbow Dash and the two of them slashed wildly at Fleur, who effortlessly moved out of the way of all of the ghostly knight’s slashes. One slash came down on top of Fleur, but she held up her finger stopping the blade with a smirk.
“I am intouchable,” Shadow Fleur bragged, “Especially by you. Everyone knows the chevalier falls to the villain in the end.”
“SHUT UP!” Rainbow Dash screamed, casting Zio on Shadow Fleur, who immediately vanished only to appear right in front of Rainbow Dash. She then held her hand out at Rainbow Dash, magically gripping her by the neck and holding her up.
“No!” Pinkie Pie cried running up to Shadow Fleur, “Please, let her go, Fleur! Don’t do this!”
“You need a reminder of who’s truly in power in this kingdom, Princesse,” Shadow Fleur said, “I think using this one as an example will suffice.”
“Pinkie Pie, move!” Starlight commanded. As soon as Pinkie Pie jumped out of the way, both Morgana and Elenora charged at either side of Shadow Fleur. Both Persona’s attacks were stopped by a force field.
“What?!” Trixie cried, “Why can’t we touch her?!”
“Because it’s as I already said,” Shadow Fleur said arrogantly, “I’m intouchable.” a powerful magical force knocked both Personas and their users back onto the ground, “Too bad the same can’t be said for you, Chevalier,” she used her magic to grip Rainbow Dash’s neck even tighter.
Pinkie Pie ran up to Shadow Fleur and embraced her from behind, “I’LL GO WITH YOU!”
“P-Pinkie Pie… don’t…!” Rainbow Dash forced out, “Don’t… go with…” whatever she was going to say was lost in a scream as Shadow Fleur’s grip tightened.
“Please stop this!” Pinkie Pie begged tearfully, “Please! I’ll go with you, I promise! I won’t fight you, just please let Dashie go!”
Shadow Fleur considered her words for a second before sighing, “Bien,” using her magic, she tossed Rainbow Dash into another tree before turning to embrace Pinkie Pie as she cried helplessly, “No more of this foolishness, ma chere. I know what’s best for the Royaume.”
“I… I know…” Pinkie Pie sobbed, completely defeated.
“Is that… it?!” Trixie shouted at Pinkie Pie, “You’re not even going to fight?! You're just going to go with her?!”
“Unlike you three, Pinkie Pie here is intelligente,” Shadow Fleur said as a black portal opened behind them.
“You can’t give up, Pinkie Pie!” Trixie cried desperately, “She only has as much power as you give her!”
“I… I’m sorry Trixie…” Pinkie Pie said somberly, “But this… this is all I can do…”
Shadow Fleur guided Pinkie Pie through the black portal just as it was starting to close.
“PINKIE PIE!” Trixie shot to her feet and ran toward the portal, but it closed right before she could reach it, “DAMN IT PINKIE PIE!” she fell to her knees and tightened her fists in frustration, “Why…? Why is she of all people giving up so easily...?”
Starlight closed her eyes somberly. She understood where her head was more than likely. It was just a bit ago that she was in the exact same situation, after all.
“Ugh…” Rainbow Dash groaned sitting up, “Pinkie… Pie…?”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried flying over to her, “Rainbow Dash, are you okay?”
“Where’s Pinkie Pie…?” Rainbow Dash asked nursing her neck.
“Fleur’s Shadow took her,” Starlight said walking over to Rainbow Dash and kneeling before her, “How do you feel?”
“I’ll live,” Rainbow Dash groaned, “Damn that woman.”
“Odd,” Twilight said, “Nothing you three did seemed to have any effect on the Shadow.”
“Was that some sort of spell?” Starlight asked Twilight.
“More than likely. However, everything here is a representation of something within Pinkie Pie’s subconscious.”
“Meaning that until we figure out what she means by “I’m untouchable” we won’t be able to hurt Fleur or get Pinkie Pie out of here, is that it?” Trixie asked now walking over to them.
“Seems that way. At least now we know the biggest obstacle in rescuing Pinkie Pie.”
“We just need to find something in Pinkie Pie’s Akashic Records like last time,” Starlight said, noticing a Checkpoint appearing in front of the remains of the tree, “Let’s use that and return to the library. Emotions are way too high right now, and we don’t even know where to move forward from here.”
“Hate to say it, but you’re right,” Rainbow Dash said rising to her feet, “Let’s end this here for now.”
Starlight rose up and walked toward the door, but stopped when she noticed one member not moving, “Trixie, let’s go.”
Trixie sighed in frustration and stormed toward the door, pushing past everyone. As she passed Starlight, she noticed the same dark look she used to have before being rescued.
“What’s her problem?” Twilight asked, “She’s been really emotional this entire mission.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Starlight said approaching the door, “Everyone else, rest up.”
Rainbow Dash sighed rubbing her eyes and walked toward the door after Starlight. Once everyone was gone, the door vanished behind them as if it was never there to begin with.
end song
Rainbow Dash decided to leave early, one because she was really tired, and two because she figured Starlight and Trixie needed some time alone. After confirming that she was in fact still in the Akashic Records, Twilight also logged out, letting Starlight handle this.
It took a bit of searching, but she eventually found Trixie deeper in the library. She sat at a desk, legs crossed, and shuffling her cards probably in an attempt to calm herself down. If the scowl on her face was any indication however, it wasn’t working too well.
Starlight sighed and sat down in front of her, choosing not to speak right away.
“Come to call me out on my temper?” Trixie said, her voice low and dark, sounding just like she did when Blueblood had her.
“Not exactly,” Starlight said, “I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine.”
“No you’re not. I know that look, Trixie.”
“What look?”
“You’re upset.”
“Well yeah. My friend is in danger. Why wouldn’t I be upset?”
“I’d expect to be having this talk with Rainbow Dash, not you,” Starlight sighed as Trixie turned away from Starlight and folded her arms, “Trixie, don’t shut me out, please. I want to help you through this.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, okay?!” Trixie screamed breaking down, “There, are you happy now?!”
“Trixie…” Starlight felt her heart shatter in two seeing her friend in such a state.
“I thought I could keep myself in control, and I did for a bit! But when I saw Pinkie Pie just go with Fleur, I just…!” she held her head and screamed in anger, sadness, and frustration. Seeing that, Starlight understood.
Trixie saw herself in Pinkie Pie just now.
Starlight rose up and walked over to Trixie’s chair, and held her gently as she cried.
“It’s okay,” Starlight said, “Just let it out.”
“It’s… just like with me!” Trixie sobbed, “It’s Blueblood all over again!”
“No, it’s different,” Starlight tightened the embrace, “Because this time you have power.”
“What good is it?! I wasn’t doing any more damage than you or Rainbow Dash! And I still can’t keep myself together!” she turned to look at Starlight desperately, “Why does it hurt still?! You saved me from my Dungeon, so why am I still so affected by this?!”
Starlight closed her eyes sadly, “Because for as much magic as I have, no spell can heal a wound of the heart this deep. I don’t know how to help you through this, Trixie, but I will help you. I’m not giving up on you.”
“Starlight…” Trixie turned away from Starlight sadly, “Maybe I shouldn’t be a part of this mission… I don’t know if I can keep myself in control.”
“I need you beside me, Trixie,” Starlight said kneeling in front of Trixie and taking holding her hands, “Not just because we’re short on fighters still, but because you’re my friend. Your presence helps me just as much as mine helps you.”
Trixie started trembling, and still wouldn’t look Starlight in the eyes, “Can I… be alone for a bit, Starlight?”
Starlight sighed, but nodded relenting. She rose up, but before she left she gently kissed Trixie on the cheek, surprising the broken teen.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Trixie,” Starlight said before taking her ring off. Seemed like the hardest part of this mission wasn’t keeping Pinkie Pie safe. Rather, it was keeping her team from breaking apart.
Her first official run as leader, and Starlight wasn’t sure if she succeeded or failed.
Author's Note
*hugs Trixie*
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