September 28^th, 2019
Friday
Cloudy

Morning

Starlight had a bit of a late start this morning since she sat up in her bed a bit later than she had liked. She was still having racy dreams about Trixie, this last one was real steamy. She didn’t want to start avoiding Trixie, but she didn’t know how to deal with this issue. She couldn’t just come out and tell Trixie about them.

That would just make things really awkward between them.

Besides, right now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Pinkie Pie was her top priority. After getting up, taking a quick shower, and getting dressed, she went downstairs to eat breakfast. She stopped when she saw Trixie leaning against the back of the couch, arms folded and frowning.

Starlight walked over to Trixie and asked if everything was okay. Trixie sighed and looked at Starlight with a concerned expression.

“It’s… better if you just see it for yourself,” Trixie said. That didn’t sound pleasant.

Starlight went into the dining room, prepared for anything. At least, she thought she was prepared for anything. Then she saw what Pinkie Pie was wearing and was frozen.

play song

Normally Pinkie Pie dressed very conservatively. Long dresses and such, making her look almost like a modern princess of sorts. This time however, she was wearing a skimpy red top with an opening in the middle to show off her bust, booty jean shorts, dark sheer leggings, and black and golden boots. For make-up, her lipstick was a darker red, and she actually wore purple eye-shadow, making her look almost like she did in the pictures.

“Um…” Starlight said, eyes locked on Pinkie Pie, who looked up at her and smiled.

“Heya Starlight,” she said waving sweetly. Her voice sounded the same, but something in her tone felt… off.

“Trust me, we’re just as confused as you are,” Rainbow Dash chimed in, finishing her breakfast, “She said she was changing her style a bit for school, but I wasn’t expecting this.”

“None of us were,” Celestia said, folding her arms and pursing her lips, “Sweetheart, are you sure everything is okay?”

“Yeah, Ms. Tia. Everything is fine,” Pinkie Pie said waving it off, “This was Fleur’s idea to combat the sexual harassment.”

“By making it worse?” Starlight asked as Trixie stepped back in behind her.

“No, by taking the power away from them,” Pinkie Pie rose up from her seat, “Ms. Tia, I’ll take my plate into the kitchen before I head out.”

“That’s fine, honey. I’ll take care of all of that. Just…” Celestia averted her eyes and bit her lip, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I’m not breaking dress code, right?” Pinkie Pie asked, putting her hand on her hips, “And this isn’t nearly as bad as how Trixie was dressing at the beginning of the year.”

“Being completely honest, it’s not much better in my opinion,” Trixie said.

Oddly, Pinkie Pie turned to Trixie and glared at her.

Celestia sighed, “Just be careful, okay Pinkie Pie?” Celestia urged, “Please be careful.”

Pinkie Pie sighed, “Yes, Ms. Tia. I’ll see you at school, girls.”

“Pinkie Pie, wait!” Rainbow Dash asked shooting up, “Um, why don’t I walk you to-”

“No.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in shock, “N-no?”

“I’ll be fine, Rainbow Dash. I don’t need you or anyone protecting me,” with that, she turned and left the dining room. Even her walk was different.

“Ms. Tia, what’s going on with her?!” Rainbow Dash asked, “It’s like she became a completely different person over night!”

“I’m not sure,” Celestia said running her hands through her hair nervously, “This… this is very bad though.”

“It’s… just like me.”

Everyone turned to Trixie, who had a horrified expression on her face.

“Just like you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Remember when I was trapped in my Dungeon? Everyone in school kept saying it was like I became a completely different person. During that time, my dreams were getting really graphic, like I was in danger of dying every night almost.”

“So what are you saying, that Pinkie Pie’s running out of time?” Rainbow Dash asked frantically.

“That’s, the most likely possibility,” Trixie said nervously.

“No…” Rainbow Dash backed up against a wall, “I… should have gone in to protect her…”

“Absolutely not,” Celestia said immediately. Rainbow Dash turned to her enraged.

“What do you mean absolutely not!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “If I had been in there, maybe we could have stopped this!”

Celestia rose from her seat and took a deep breath before speaking.

“This wasn’t caused by something within her Dungeon, Rainbow Dash. This was due to a shift in her reality that affected her Dungeon. Going in would have put the three of you at risk, and I can’t allow that. No matter how badly I want this to end as soon as possible.”

“Besides, we’re still not in the village,” Trixie explained, “If we went in, there’s no telling if we’d even make it to Pinkie Pie in time. Take it from me, Dash, when inside of a Dungeon, you need to always use your head,” Trixie turned away from everyone and rubbed her arm, “Or else you end up screwing up like I did.”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, “Okay, I get it. I’m sorry I snapped at you, Ms. Tia. I’m just frustrated here.”

“We’re all frustrated, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia walked over to Rainbow Dash and hugged her, “But now isn’t the time to lash out at each other. That doesn’t help Pinkie Pie.”

“Right, I know,” Rainbow Dash said returning the hug, “Starlight, Pinkie Pie might still be here. If she is, could you do your empath thing to see what’s going on in her head?”

Starlight nodded and ran out of the dining room, glad to see Pinkie Pie just coming downstairs.

“Pinkie Pie, hold on!” Starlight called out stopping Pinkie Pie at the front desk.

“Yes, Starlight?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking ever so slightly impatient, “Let me guess, you want to tell me this is a bad idea too?”

Starlight shook her head, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m here for you. If things get too bad, just run to me, okay?”

Pinkie Pie smiled, “Oh Starlight, you’re such a great friend. Seriously though, I’m not worried,” she walked over to Starlight and hugged her, “But I’m grateful that you care so much.”

Starlight, help me! I can’t control myself!

Starlight returned the embrace, looking at Pinkie Pie suspiciously.

“See you in homeroom, bestie~” Pinkie Pie said, kissing Starlight on the cheek before sauntering out of the dorm. As she left, Trixie, Rainbow Dash, and Celestia stepped out of the dining room.

“Well?” Trixie asked Starlight, who told her the emotions coming off to Pinkie Pie, “What the…?”

“We’re going into her Dungeon for sure tonight,” Rainbow Dash said, “Pinkie Pie’s in danger in there, I know it.”

“Agreed,” Celestia said, “I pray for your safety, Pinkie Pie.”

Starlight felt a familiar drive looking at Pinkie Pie right now. Just like with Trixie, she knew that she had to do something. Not just because she was the Trickster, but because Pinkie Pie was someone really special to Starlight.

She was her first friend in Canterlot High.

play song

While sitting in the train going to school, Starlight chose to finish the rest of the Forgotten Princess. Since they were going into the Phase tonight to help Pinkie Pie, this was the best time to sit down and read, since she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do any reading later in the day.

Seeing the knight die in the movie was one thing, but reading it in the book was a much more powerful experience, not at all helped by Princess Victoria’s narration. Starlight easily empathized with the character at the end of the book.

After taking a mental note of where Richard’s death happened in the book, Starlight closed it and reflected a bit on what she read. She felt a good deal more sensitive after reading that book. She didn’t get a lot of time to reflect though, as her stop came shortly after.

Afternoon

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So far in school, things were going just as Starlight expected them to. All of the students were looking at Pinkie Pie differently. The boys were all clearly undressing Pinkie Pie in their minds, and the girls were of course talking about her behind her back. Oddly though, it didn’t seem like it really phased Pinkie Pie at all. In fact, it seemed almost like she was enjoying the attention.

This was a huge shift from the last time, and it was getting concerning to-

“Starlight Glimmer,” Ms. Harshwhinny’s voice shot through the classroom, “Since you clearly seem to be phasing in and out of reality yourself, perhaps you’d like to answer this question. What makes the number zero special as a real number?”

Starlight was so caught off guard that it took a second to remember what they were discussing in class. Thankfully though, she remembered reading about that in her textbook, how zero was both a real and imaginary number. When she gave the answer, Harshwhinny clapped her hands, visibly impressed.

“Oh, so you were paying attention. Either that, or you just do the homework, unlike some students in my class,” she said glaring at Rainbow Dash, “But yes, zero is a special number, as it’s considered to be both a real number and an imaginary number at the same time. It’s also the only number like it. In many ways, the concept of zero puts into question many aspects of reality. For example…”

“And there she goes, talking about the magical nature of numbers,” Rainbow Dash said rolling her eyes, “Still, that was impressive. Good on, Starlight.”

Starlight smiled proudly, feeling significantly smarter after answering that question correctly.

After School

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Rainbow Dash managed to catch up with Pinkie Pie, insisting that they walk back to the dorm together. As such, Starlight and Trixie decided to take this time to relax a bit before going into the Phase tonight. Well, relax as much as they could, all things considered.

“I’m getting seriously worried about her,” Trixie said as they walked through the park, “So far, she seems like herself for the most part, but…”

“She’s not herself,” Starlight said, “At least, I don’t remember Pinkie Pie being so flirtatious.”

“She’s always been more playful with it,” Trixie answered, “Most of the time, she’d focus on Dash, though,” they stopped at the bench next to the Velvet Room door, “Hey, what if we asked Igor about this?”

“About Pinkie Pie?” Starlight asked.

“I just need to know if my hunch is correct, and that this is a red flag that we’re running out of time,” Trixie said, “I’ll sit next to the bench and cover for you while you ask, but I’m really concerned about this. Please, Starlight.”

Starlight nodded to Trixie, took off her Velvet Key, and opened the door.

play song

“Welcome, to the Velvet Room,” Igor greeted in his usual manner. Starlight sat down before Igor, as always feel the heat of Victor’s lust filled gaze.

“My friend and I wanted to ask you something concerning Dungeons,” Starlight said, going into what was going on with Pinkie Pie.

“Indeed, this is quite serious,” Igor said, closing his eyes and looking down, somehow looking gravely serious despite still grinning, “The Magician is right to be concerned, I’m afraid. Your friend is running out of time.”

“Do you know how much time she has left?” Starlight asked urgently.

“If hope is not restored to her soon, she will probably die within the next few days,” Igor stated, “Either way, I’d estimate you only have a week left to rescue her at best.”

Only a week? Certainly they could extend that by rescuing her like usual, right?

“I’m afraid that won’t be as effective at this point,” Igor explained.

“Master, if I may?” Victor asked Igor, who nodded for him to continue, “The heart can only take so much. While rescuing her may keep her alive for another day or two, eventually her heart will give up completely.”

Starlight did remember that Pinkie Pie didn’t seem too hopeful about her situation in the beginning, and had even given up hope in her dreams. Not even Trixie was this bad off. Realizing that she needed to get stronger, she decided to spend some time fusing Personas.

After registering her Personas thus far, she first chose to fuse Berith with Onmoraki. The resulting fusion was a female spirit with light blue skin dressed like a dancer.

“My name is Apsaras. Please, allow me to strum out the true emotions of your heart,” the new Persona said. Before bursting into flames, the image of Diamond Tiara shot through Starlight’s mind. She felt that this Persona became a good deal stronger.

Next up, since she had enough money to get these back if she needed them, she fused Jack Frost (which she was going to get back immediately) and Hua Po. The resulting Persona threw Starlight for a loop. She had dark blue, almost purple skin, black hair, two swords, and was wearing a golden horned helmet, white and red loincloth skirt, and nothing else. Her black hair strategically covered her ample cleavage, but Starlight felt like one gust of wind…

“I am Yaksini,” the Persona said, “I shall merge with the flame of your heart and consume those that stand against you.”

Before she entered Starlight’s channeling ring, an image of Celestia shot through her mind, empowering the Persona. She ended this fusion session by buying back Jack Frost before bidding Victor and Igor farewell.

“Good luck, Miss. Glimmer,” Igor said, Victor bowing to Starlight as she exited the Velvet Room.

play song

“That took longer than I thought,” Trixie said as Starlight sat beside her.

“Decided to fuse a couple of Persona while I was there,” Starlight said, “Igor says you’re right to be concerned. Pinkie Pie only has a week left maximum.”

Trixie paled, “Only a week? Starlight, we have to get to that village tonight.”

Starlight agreed. If possible, they needed to find the castle Pinkie Pie was being kept in too.

“This is so stressful,” Trixie leaned forward closing her eyes seriously, “Between this and Blueblood…”

“How is that, by the way?” Starlight asked.

“Well, the good news is I’m getting more support than I thought I would,” Trixie said, “A few students are standing up for me, and I hear they’re signing a petition to get Blueblood expelled.”

“That’s great news,” Starlight said, trying to be positive. Oddly, Trixie sighed gravely.

“Yeah, except that the boys on the football team are all siding with Blueblood,” Trixie said, “I hear he’s being really rough with them during practice, venting his frustrations on them.”

Meaning they wanted them back together just so they’d stop getting beat up in practice. Starlight wasn’t sure what pissed her off more. That, or the fact that Blueblood was using that to get sympathy.

play song

“Have any of them approached you?” Starlight asked.

“Not yet, but I know they will,” Trixie sat back and huffed in frustration, “This so fucked up! I’m the one who was abused! Why are they treating me like I did something wrong?!”

“This isn’t fair at all,” Starlight said, “If they knew the truth, they’d side with you for sure.”

“Would they?” Trixie asked somberly, “Or would they just assume that because I was his sub, I asked for it?”

“I won’t let them do that to you!”

Trixie’s eyes shot open and she looked at Starlight blushing, “W-what?”

“I uh…” Starlight looked away, suddenly feeling really embarrassed, “I mean, I’ll stand up for you. If they try and say something to you about that. I’m on your side.”

Trixie smiled and pulled Starlight into a tight and loving embrace.

“Thank you, Starlight,” Trixie said, “You’re really special to me.”

“Y-your welcome, Trixie,” Starlight said, losing herself a bit in the embrace, and how wonderful Trixie smelled.

“Hey, can I ask you something, kind of odd?” Trixie asked releasing Starlight, “If you were in an S&M relationship, where would you see yourself?”

Um, wow. That was an odd question to ask, and Starlight felt really flushed thinking about it. Still, she took a second to think about that.

“Well, I suppose I’m a little curious what it would feel like being tied up,” Starlight said, “But being completely honest, I see myself more as the one doing the tying.”

Just as she suspected, Trixie’s face turned bright red hearing that.

“I-I see,” Trixie lowered her hat to hide her eyes, “Yeah, I can see that, honestly. You strike me as someone who would really take charge in the bedroom.”

“I wouldn’t be like… like him though,” Starlight said immediately, “As in, I would make sure that whoever my, um, sub is, that she’s okay with whatever we do.”

“S-she?!” Trixie asked.

“N-not to say that the sub has to be a girl! I mean, I guess to me it makes more sense that way, and I’m not entirely sure what my sexuality is, but, I guess-” she closed her eyes and covered her face in her hands, wishing she knew how to turn invisible.

Crash and burn, Starlight!

Surprisingly, Trixie started laughing. It wasn’t a mocking laugh either. More like, relief?

“It’s okay, Starlight. Everyone in school knows, and I don’t mind that you have a crush on me,” Trixie said, “I guess, I just needed to hear your thoughts on… well… you know.”

Suddenly, Starlight started remembering some of her dream. Seeing Trixie tied to her bed, writhing and pulling at her bindings as Starlight sat on top of her, groping her and kissing her all over…

Starlight shook her head, bringing herself back to reality.

“So… it doesn’t make you uncomfortable?” Starlight asked.

“Not at all. Like I said before, I kind of find it flattering. Also,” Trixie averted her eyes, “I just… feel safe when I’m with you. I know you’ll protect me.”

Starlight wanted so badly to close the distance between them, and kiss her sweet, soft lips. However, she knew that might be going a bit too quickly, so instead just placed her hand on top of Trixie’s.

“Well, I am your hero, right?” Starlight asked with a smile. Trixie met eyes with Starlight, and nodded smiling lovingly before embracing Starlight once again.

“I’m so happy we’re friends, Starlight. Thank you so much.”

Starlight returned the embrace, feeling just how much Trixie was beginning to love Starlight as a friend. She felt their bond had become significantly stronger.

They didn’t say much the rest of their time outside. They simply sat together and enjoyed the closeness until it was time to return to the dorm.

Late night

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Upon reentry of Pinkie Pie’s Dungeon, the three witches got to work searching for the missing page. It had to still be inside of the cabin. At least, that made the most sense.

“Okay, so what page did you say the death happened?” Twilight asked from her end while they searched. Starlight reminded Twilight of the page number, “Right. Searching… searching… got it. Yeah, it’s just as I was afraid of. The missing page is the exact same page where Richard dies in the actual book.”

“She seriously internalized that book, huh?” Trixie asked as she looked behind a bookshelf.

“Well, according to you guys, this was the role she was dying to play. Also, look at her Dungeon. If she didn’t outright internalize it, then it’s pretty clear she at least resonates with the role.”

“She always was very much like a fairy tale princess,” Rainbow Dash said, getting on her knees to search under the couch, “I even asked her if she was searching for her Prince Charming once.”

“How did she answer that?” Starlight asked looking on another shelf.

“She said “Why would I search for him when I have you?” God I was so embarrassed when she said that,” Rainbow Dash sat up and rubbed her eyes, “She was always making jokes like that about us.”

“Oooh~ Sounds like you two had a serious thing going on,” Trixie taunted jovially. Rainbow Dash responded by taking a pillow and throwing it at Trixie.

“Yeah, like you’re one to talk, Lulamoon. You’re even more obvious with your flirting with our Leader.”

“I can’t help it,” Trixie shrugged, “She’s just so adorable with her reactions~” she then turned to Starlight, winked, and blew her a kiss. Starlight responded to that by turning away quickly to hide how red her face was, which prompted Trixie to start laughing.

Rainbow Dash chuckled a bit, but then sat down on the floor resting her back against the back of the couch, “That’s why the way she’s acting right now just… I dunno.”

“You know that’s not really her, right?” Trixie asked walking over to Rainbow Dash and kneeling next to her, “That’s just Fleur’s Shadow influencing her.”

“I know, but it still upsets me. She wasn’t even that interested in me after school. She kept looking on her phone and reading what people were saying about her on social media.”

“I take it that’s out of character for Pinkie Pie,” Twilight inquired.

“Heavily out of character. She has a Facebook account, but she never uses it. Says she’s rather make friends in person than through the internet,” Rainbow Dash sighed, “So to see her glued to her phone like that is just…”

Starlight grimaced hearing that, but then turned to the shelf noticing something underneath one of the books. It looked like a page was stuffed underneath. Starlight pulled it out and quickly skimmed it, “Found it!”

“You found the page?” Trixie asked, she and Rainbow Dash getting up and running to her side.

“What’s on it? What happens to my character in the book?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying to hide how tense she was. Starlight read through the page out loud so everyone could hear, her heart sinking at each word she spoke. This was just like the real book, almost to an eerie degree. As such, at the every end of the passage…

The knight, this time represented by Rainbow Dash, died at the hands of the villain, who this time Starlight realized was probably Fleur since they kept speaking in random French.

After she finished, everyone was silent. Everything else in the book was more or less different, mirroring aspects of Pinkie Pie’s life to a degree. So… why was this one part still the same?

“What does this mean?” Trixie asked, mirroring Starlight’s thoughts, “Why is Pinkie Pie’s version the same as the real book?”

“Yeah, that is weir-” Twilight cut herself off with a gasp, “Girls, Shadows are surrounding the castle!”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“We know you’re in there, witches! By order of the Princess, you’re under arrest! Either come quietly, or we’ll be forced to use violence!”

“Wait, did I hear that correctly?!” Trixie asked, “The Princess, doesn’t that mean Pinkie Pie?!”

“No! I refuse to believe that!” Rainbow Dash said adamantly, “Even if this is just a dream to Pinkie Pie, she wouldn’t ever send her guards after her friends!”

There was a loud banging on the door, prompting all three witched and Twilight’s wisp to gather close to each other, all of them drawing their weapons.

“Yeah?! Well they seem pretty fucking serious to me!” Trixie cried, “Hey Starlight, what are we doing about this?!”

Starlight looked around frantically for an idea, and then looked at her scythe. She remembered the character in that anime she watched, and what she would do. The difference between her and that character however was that her weapon was both long ranged and short ranged. Starlight’s scythe couldn’t-

Wait a second, what if it could?

“I have an idea,” Starlight said walking toward the door and holding her scythe in front of her, sticking the black into the ground and summoning Morgana to her side, “When Morgana and I clear the doorway, you two rush outside and start making your way through the forest.”

“Got it, Leader,” Rainbow Dash said standing beside Starlight and holding her sword up close to her head ready to charge.

“I have no idea what you’re about to do, but I’ll follow you,” Trixie said standing on Starlight’s other side and holding her arms out, “I seriously hope you know what you’re doing.”

Me too, Starlight thought briefly. She then felt a hand placed on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Morgana looking down at her. She nodded in assurance, silently telling Starlight it would work. If her other self was confident in this, Starlight knew it would work.

Starlight closed her eyes and imagined the scythe that character was using. She imagined herself holding the scythe in her hand, remembering where the trigger would be for the gun part. She then moved her other hand to where it was, and was surprised to see something was there.

play song

It was a gun trigger!

The door burst open at that moment and knights came charging in. Starlight opened her eyes at that moment and started firing at the Shadows with her scythe. At the same time, Morgana’s chest opened and she started firing her long ranged spell from the gun sticking out.

Once the pathway was cleared, Rainbow Dash turned into a bolt of lightning and charged through the front door. At the same time, Trixie unloaded a barrage of cards at the Shadows that started coming in afterward. Starlight and Morgana fired another round of shots at the Shadows, and she then turned to Trixie.

“Grab on, I’ll give you a lift!” Starlight commanded. Trixie didn’t ask questions thankfully. She just grabbed onto the scythe, and Starlight spun around throwing her toward the door. Trixie spun in mid air and actually kicked one of the Shadows in the chest pushing it out through a few more Shadows, and then joined Rainbow Dash’s side as they ran out of the forest, leaving Starlight and Morgana by themselves.

“Don’t think too hard about what to do next, my pupil! Just let go!”

Starlight nodded to Morgana and held her scythe behind her. She then fired a shot to push herself forward, and while in mid air spun around slicing through a Shadow. Once she landed outside, she summoned Morgana again and had her slice and kick a few of the Shadows surrounding them, which seemed to be much faster than before.

One of the Shadows charged at Starlight, but she spun her scythe around and held it out grabbing the Shadow with it. Morgana then rushed past the Shadow slicing it in half.

“Don’t get caught up here, Starlight!” Twilight said, her wisp hovering close to her, “We need to help the others!”

Starlight nodded, and again shot behind her to propel herself forward. She then began jumping on and off the Shadows slashing them in mid air, throwing them into Morgana so she could finish them off, she even had Morgana pick her up and throw her forward a few times.

Before landing on the ground, she summoned Morgana again and this time the two of them spun together, turning into a red and black razor wheel almost and sliced through two of the Shadows killing them before running forward to where her friends were.

“Okay, so where did you learn how to do that?!” Twilight asked, clearly shocked.

“Saw it in an anime, and decided to try it out!” Starlight said, not stopping for a second.

“Seriously? But that doesn’t make-” she cut herself off with a sigh, “Oh never mind. It works, so just go with it.”

Starlight made it to a clearing, where she saw Trixie and Rainbow Dash standing back to back, both summoning their Personas and pushing back a few Shadows that apparently followed them. By the time Starlight reached them there were only four left. The Shadows shed their assumed forms, taking on their true appearances. Two turned into a large figure that almost looked like he was made of paper with a crescent moon on its head, and the other two turned what appeared to be a one legged black smith with a few metallic pieces welded onto it’s body.

“The paper looking one is called Shiki-Ouji, and the blacksmith is Ippon-Datara!” Twilight said, “These are strong, so be careful!”

The two Shiki-Ouji held out their arms and shot sharp projectiles at the girls, prompted them to scatter.

“Persona!” Trixie called out, summoning Elenora and casting Sukukaja on Rainbow Dash to speed her up.

“Thanks!” Rainbow Dash said holding her sword ready, “Awaken, Eclair Farron!”

Her Persona appeared behind her, and the two of them began fighting off both Ippon-Dataras at once as they tried slamming Rainbow Dash with their sledge hammers.

“Twilight, do these have weaknesses?” Starlight asked.

“Nothing is coming up for Shiki-Ouji, but Ippon-Datara is weak to ice magic!”

“Thanks! JACK FROST!” Starlight shouted, switching Personas to the cute hat wearing snowman Persona. She then cast Mabufu on every enemy present, doing seemingly average damage to the two paper demons, but knocking the two Ippon-Datara Shadows down.

“Perfect!” Rainbow Dash slashed wildly at one of the Ippon-Dataras, doing a fast and fancy combo combined with electricity and ending with her sheathing her sword. Immediately the Shadow exploded and died on the spot, “You’re up, Leader!”

Starlight switched back to Morgana and charged at the second Ippon-Datara. The two of them slashed at it together, ending with Starlight knocking it into the air and Morgana rising up and slamming it back onto the ground. Starlight then rushed past it at high speed slashing it in half and killing it.

The remaining two Shadows had put their focus on Trixie, who did a series of back flips out of the way. Once they were done firing at her, she threw her cards out at the two Shadows and snapped her fingers, causing them to explode and fall to the ground.

“Starlight, let’s attack them while their on the ground!” Trixie requested. Starlight nodded and the three of them proceeded to use their All Out Attack on the Shadows. This oddly didn’t do much of anything to them.

“Okay, what the hell?!” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Hey, that one attack you used on them. Was that a physical move, or does it count as fire?” Twilight asked Trixie.

“I think fire, why?” Trixie asked, bracing herself as the Shadows began firing at them again.

“Because those Shadows are immune to physical attacks!”

“Fantastic!” Rainbow Dash said rolling her eyes.

“Then switch to magic!” Starlight said, “I’ll try to make them lose focus with my attacks, and then you two hit them when you see an opening!”

“Understood!” Trixie said.

“You got it, Leader!” Rainbow Dash said.

“YAKSINI!” Starlight shouted, switching Personas. Immediately she felt like her attack had gotten stronger just by that Persona being present. Said Persona drew her blades and rushed at the Shadows, attacking with her swords and making them lose focus despite not actually doing any damage to them.

“Light ‘em up, Elenora!” Trixie shouted, summoning her Persona and casting a multi-targeting version of Agi. The name “Maragi” came to mind when Starlight saw that, “So um… question. Is that Persona of yours… topless?” Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Starlight blushed, suddenly remembering how well endowed her new Persona was and how it left very little to the imagination.

“L-let’s focus on the fight! Please!” Starlight cried.

Trixie shrugged, “You got it, Just know that I am enjoying the view~” she winked to Starlight, who’s face felt even hotter after that. Goddamn it, Trixie.

“Persona!” Rainbow Dash shouted, summoning Eclair behind her. The two of them held their blades above them, and cast Zio on both of them, again a multiple target version of the spell. Starlight felt the name “Mazio” come to her upon seeing it.

One of the Shadows was killed, and the other one was knocked to the ground as it was apparently knocked off guard.

Since she knew that there was no point in doing an All Out Attack, Starlight instead cast empathy on it. Through Morgana’s eyes, she found herself filled with an urge to plow forward no matter what, even if it meant throwing her life to the wayside. Was this how Rainbow Dash felt?

As soon as she came to that understanding, the Persona rose to his feet and nodded to Starlight, bursting into flames and flying into the ring.

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“Whew! Glad that’s over with,” Rainbow Dash said sheathing her sword, “So… about that Persona.”

Starlight’s felt her face turn red again, “T-that’s just how she appeared! It’s not like I came up with that design!”

“I dunno,” Trixie placed her hands behind her head and walked forward, “These things are made from our subconscious after all. That means on some level…”

Starlight moaned in embarrassment as her friends laughed. Hell, even Twilight was heard laughing from the real world.

Somehow, she blamed Ms. Tia for this. She didn’t know why, but the fact this Persona was the Empress Arcana like Celestia made her wonder.

After getting in a good laugh at Starlight’s expense, the four of them made their way further into the forest. Thankfully they didn’t have much more to go, as after a few minutes of walking, a somewhat large but dilapidated village came into view. Way in the back was what appeared to be a large, lavish castle made of golden bricks. It was the nicest thing there, as if the village’s budget went solely into building that.

“That place has seen better days,” Trixie said looking down at the village, “Unlike that castle over there.”

“That’s where Pinkie Pie lives in this place,” Rainbow Dash said.

“In the castle? That doesn’t seem like a place where Pinkie Pie would be comfortable,” Trixie said.

“I’m willing to bet that Fleur’s Shadow has something to do with that.” Twilight said.

“Do you ever see Pinkie Pie in the village?” Starlight asked.

“Only a couple of times, being completely honest,” Rainbow Dash said shrugging, “And she always has Fleur beside her.”

“I bet Fleur does all of the talking for her too, right?” Trixie asked, Rainbow Dash nodded as a response, “Okay, we need to get down there. I hope Pinkie Pie is there at the moment.”

“Me too. Sadly I can’t quite control what Checkpoints we go to yet, so if she’s in that fortress we have no way of getting there without just going through the main door again.”

“If we have to, we’ll do that,” Starlight said, “But for now, let’s just hope she’s somewhere down in that village.”

As they walked closer to the village, the sense of wrongness grew more and more. It felt almost like Starlight was back in the carnival that Trixie was trapped in. Like something was watching out for them, searching for them.

And of course, all of the villagers present were Shadows.

“Do you think they’ll catch them?” one Shadow said to it’s friend.

“I hope so. I hear they’re incredibly dangerous. The Princess’ Royal Adviser said that their goals are to destroy the entire village!”

“Gee, think they’re talking about us?” Rainbow Dash asked as they hid behind a building.

“Hopefully the Shadows don’t know what you look like,” Twilight said, “Otherwise we’re going to have one hell of a time getting to the castle.”

“Yeah… about that,” Trixie said pointing to another building with a wanted poster on the front. They carefully moved to investigate the posters, which Starlight internally face palmed at the sight of. Her picture had her smiling demonically almost like an evil villain, Rainbow Dash’s picture looked like she was ready top bite someone’s head off, and Trixie was actually blowing a kiss to the camera.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rainbow Dash said, “I’m not that violent!”

“Do I really look that sinister…?” Starlight asked.

“Looking good~” Trixie said with a proud smile, prompting everyone to turn to her deadpanned, “What? I can’t help it if the Shadows captured my charming personality.”

“Do you hear yourself talk sometimes?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Like, seriously?”

play song

“Shh!” Starlight said, pulling her friends down as a fancy chariot rode up to the bar. When it opened, both Shadow Fleur and Pinkie Pie stepped out, but Pinkie Pie was wearing an odd golden collar around her neck, and her wrists were shackled together by golden chains.

“I wonder what that is,” Trixie said, narrowing her eyes at the collar.

“I’m going inside to get some help in dealing with those witches,” Shadow Fleur said, casting a spell causing more chains to appear on Pinkie Pie, wrapping her to a nearby pole, “I’ll be back shortly, Princesse.”

Shadow Fleur patted Pinkie Pie on the head and sauntered inside. Once alone, Pinkie Pie began pulling at the chains holding her futilely, but stopped after a few seconds and just sobbed silently to herself.

“Treating Pinkie Pie like a pet…!” Rainbow Dash seethed, “Is that how she sees Pinkie Pie?!”

“Either that or something similar,” Twilight said from the real world, “This is how it was for Trixie and her Dungeon too.”

Rainbow Dash growled to herself, but then shot up and rushed over to Pinkie Pie.

“Hey! It’s not safe!” Trixie cried as Starlight reached out for her.

“Pinkie Pie, I’m here!” Rainbow Dash said as quietly as possible, catching Pinkie Pie’s attention, “Don’t worry, I’m going to get you out of here!”

Oddly, Pinkie Pie didn’t seem happy to see Rainbow Dash. In fact, she seemed terrified and was shaking her head frantically. Oddly though, she still wasn’t saying anything.

“Pinkie Pie, what’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked placing her hands on her arms, “Why do you look so afraid?”

Pinkie Pie looked up at Rainbow Dash pleadingly, tears streaming down her cheeks. Starlight had an idea and ran over to them, Trixie quickly following suit.

“Hey, something’s wrong with Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash said to Starlight, “She’s not saying anything, and she looks terrified for some reason.”

Starlight nodded and switched places with Rainbow Dash. She then opened herself completely and placed a hand on Pinkie Pie’s shoulder, immediately hit with a wave of terror.

Get Dashie out of here! Fleur’s targeting her directly! The chains can’t be broken, so just leave me, please!

“We have to go, now!” Starlight said urgently.

“But Pinkie Pie’s-”

“These chains can’t be broken by normal means!” Starlight said, “And Fleur’s main focus is-” she cut herself off looking inside, noticing Fleur moving, “Hide!”

Starlight pushed Rainbow Dash behind a barrel hiding with her, while Trixie ran to hide behind another pole. Just in time too, as Fleur stepped outside and removed some of the chains with her magic.

“Bien, now we can focus on strengthening the castle,” Fleur said caressing Pinkie Pie’s cheek lovingly, “You didn’t get any visitors while I was gone, did you, Princesse?”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes turned to where Rainbow Dash and Starlight were, but she then shook her head. Fleur then led Pinkie Pie back into the chariot, which then drove off back to the castle.

“Damn it all to hell!” Rainbow Dash fussed briefly running after the chariot, “How are we going to save Pinkie Pie now?!”

“With her Shadow keeping such a close eye on Pinkie Pie now, it’s going to make things really difficult. Also, I did a scan on that collar while you were talking to her.”

“What was that?” Starlight asked.

“My guess is the reason she couldn’t speak,” Twilight explained, “There was an odd spell on the collar, one that kept flaring while Rainbow Dash was in front of her. It almost looked like it was doing that when Pinkie Pie wanted to say something.”

“This is worse than what Blueblood’s Shadow did to me,” Trixie said folding her arms, “This isn’t just Fleur treating her like a pet. She’s treating Pinkie Pie more like an object.”

“How much time do we have left in this Dungeon, Twilight?” Starlight asked.

“Hard to say, honestly,” Twilight said, “It’s almost morning, though, so probably not much.”

Starlight swore to herself and looked at the castle in the distance. It was such a ways away from where they were. If Pinkie Pie woke up before they got there, they’d have to get back here from the cabin all over again, and she knew that place was going to be heavily guarded.

“No choice then,” Starlight sighed, “Twilight, find us the nearest Checkpoint and get us out of here. We’ll continue this tomorrow night.”

“Give me just a second… okay. There’s an alleyway nearby. I’ve found a Checkpoint there. Follow me.”

play song

Twilight flew off, guiding the three of them behind what appeared to be the Village Guard. Deep inside the alleyway was the Checkpoint.

“Good, let’s head back to the Ajashic Records,” Starlight said. Trixie ran through first, but Starlight stopped and turned to Rainbow Dash, who was still glaring at the castle, “Dash.”

“I know, I know,” Rainbow Dash said, “Just… planning the kill is all.”

Starlight walked over to Rainbow Dash and placed a hand on her shoulder, “I know how you feel, believe me. But right now we need to get out of here.”

“Right,” Rainbow Dash said, her voice a bit lower and absent of… something. Starlight couldn’t tell honestly, but her tone unnerved her a bit. Thankfully Rainbow Dash walked through the Checkpoint at that moment.

Starlight frowned to herself and ran through the door, which vanished behind her as if it wasn’t ever there to begin with.

play song

In the Akashic Records, the three of them sat down at a nearby table, both to calm their nerves and to discuss what had come about from their most recent encounter.

“If Fleur’s watching over Pinkie Pie that much now, we can expect things to get harder from here on out,” Trixie said.

“Hey, if her Shadow’s watching over Pinkie Pie so much, what about the real Fleur?” Rainbow Dash asked, “She’s connected to that thing, right?”

“She is.” Twilight said, “And we have good reason to be concerned too. I imagine Fleur’s going to try and do something to keep an eye on Pinkie Pie from here on out.”

“Like possibly take her out of the Starswirl Dorm?” Starlight asked, shocking everyone.

“You don’t think she’d…” Trixie asked.

“If she does anything like that, it would confirm that these Shadows are indeed connected to the originals,” Twilight said, “I’ll talk to Ms. Tia about this, see if she can stop that from happening.”

“Good, cause otherwise that’s going to make it even harder to protect Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash said.

“It’s almost morning, so let’s get some rest for the night and prepare for tomorrow,” Starlight said, “It’s the weekend, so hopefully we can hover around Pinkie Pie for the day.”

“Good idea,” Trixie said stretching, “Hey, on another note, what are we going to do concerning Elysium?”

“Elysium? What’s that?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It’s a bit of a side mission we have. I say we not worry about Elysium for now, and instead focus on Pinkie Pie’s Dungeon. Especially since we’re running out of time.”

“I agree,” Starlight said, “Rainbow Dash, I’ll fill you in on Elysium when we wake up, alright?”

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash looked back and the door and narrowed her eyes, a dangerously dark expression on her face.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash, are you-” Trixie asked.

“I’ll see you guys in the morning,” Rainbow Dash said, taking off her Channeling Ring and vanishing from the Akashic Records.

“That, was odd,” Trixie said.

“She’s taking this whole thing with Pinkie Pie personally,” Twilight said, “At least she’s not being too reckless.”

"Why do I get the feeling you're looking at me?" Trixie asked deadpanned.

Starlight wasn’t concerned about Rainbow Dash being reckless. Actually, she had an idea of what she might have been thinking, and it scared her to think about it. Not because she didn’t want someone’s death on her conscious, but because she didn’t know what to tell Rainbow Dash.

Not when she was starting to think along the same lines…

Fool – Seekers of Light: 3/10
Magician – Trixie Lulamoon: 5/10 Level Up!
Priestess – Diamond Tiara: 4/10
The Empress – Ms. Tia: 3/10
Chariot – Rainbow Dash: 2/10
The Devil – Silver Spoon: 2/10

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