October 26^th, 2019
Friday
Overcast

Morning

Living with Determination - Persona 3

Starlight really wanted to miss school today, but she needed all the time she had to find the way into Rarity’s Dungeon. She could sense it in her heart, Rarity was suffering. She was suffering just as much as Trixie was the day they met. And like Trixie, she didn’t think anyone could come to her rescue.

But the difference here was, Trixie deep down wanted to be rescued. It almost seemed like, Rarity didn’t.

After taking her shower, Starlight returned to her room, only to see Trixie laying in her bed still.

“I take it, you’re not coming?” Starlight asked softly.

“I’m sorry Starlight. I, can’t,” Trixie muttered, “I tried to, but the idea of going to that school, and possibly seeing Rarity with, him just…”

Starlight sighed, took off her towel, and laid down beside Trixie to hold her as much as she could, “Talk to me, Trixie.”

“It’s just, I thought she was on my side,” Trixie said, her voice shaking a bit, “Even with Blueblood’s gaslighting, and Cinch’s refusal to take me seriously, I figured that, at least the Student Council President was on my side. Now though…”

Starlight grimaced at that. Regardless of what her reasoning was, it did not look good for Rarity here. She was doing everything in her power it seemed to look like a terrible person. And the sad part was, it was working.

“I thought I knew her, you know?” Trixie continued, “I thought that even at her worst, she wouldn’t do something so… heinous. Was all of that a lie…? Has she just been, playing the Student Body this whole time, using the Student Council as a means to an end…?”

“I don’t know,” Starlight sighed, “Listen, after school, I’m going to the Velvet Room. See if I can get some guidance from Igor.”

“Please,” Trixie urged, “Because right now, I don’t know what to think. I want to believe she’s a good person but, this is really personal for me, Starlight.”

“I know, which is why I’m not trying to convince you to keep believing in Rarity,” Starlight caressed Trixie’s cheek, “I’ll keep looking into this, but if you find yourself unable to go forward with this mission, you don’t have to. I won’t think any less of you if you decide not to go inside Rarity’s Dungeon.”

Trixie took a deep breath and nodded, “Could you, apologize to Ms. Tia for me?” Starlight nodded, “Thank you…”

Living with Determination: Iwatodai Dorm Arrangement - Persona 3

Starlight kissed Trixie gently and got started getting dressed. She decided to go for darker makeup today along with her usual dress, feeling more overtly gothic. Black eye shadow and dark red lipstick. Once downstairs, she saw Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash sitting on the couch together. Neither of them looked much better than Trixie.

“Hey Leader,” Rainbow Dash sighed. Starlight asked how she and Pinkie Pie were doing, “Oh I’m fine. Pissed as hell, but I’m used to that. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand…”

Starlight leaned over the couch and asked Pinkie Pie if she was going to be okay.

“I… don’t know,” Pinkie Pie admitted, “Rarity was always kind of scary to me, but that was the first time I ever felt like she’d hurt me. And, her not wanting Applejack to know about her and Blueblood…”

“That, raises red flags yeah,” Starlight agreed, “From what I’ve seen, those two tell each other everything.”

“I thought so, at least,” Pinkie Pie said, “Rarity’s rough around the edges, but she gets super affectionate around my cousin. Now though, I’m wondering if even that’s fake.”

“Hey, how are we handling this?” Rainbow Dash asked Starlight, “Like, are we still going in to rescue her?”

“I know I want to,” Starlight said, “But even I’m unsure what to make of this. If I were to say we were still going in, would you guys go in with me?”

Rainbow Dash took a breath, “Honestly, I dunno. I wanna say hell yeah, especially with both of us being possibly throw away kids, but… her fucking Blueblood? I’m sorry Leader, I don’t know if I can just brush that under the rug.”

Starlight took a breath, “Yeah… that’s fair. I’m really angry at her for doing that. I just wish she’d say why she did it.”

“What did her emotions say?” Pinkie Pie asked looking up at Starlight, “Were you able to use your Empathic Touch?”

“When she brushed past me,” Starlight confirmed, “But all that did was confirm that she does in fact, want to be left alone. She’s in pain but, even her Heart is resisting.”

“I hate to say it, but… she might be a lost cause,” Rainbow Dash admitted, “Even if we get into her Dungeon tonight, I don’t know if we can save her. Sounds almost like, she doesn’t want anyone to help her.”

“I, need to think on it, Starlight,” Pinkie Pie admitted, “I’m sorry but, this is a lot for me.”

Starlight sighed, but accepted all of this. She didn’t want to go in alone, but it was starting to seem like, she’d be doing this Dungeon solo if it came to it. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

She went into the kitchen to get some breakfast, seeing Ms. Tia sitting at the table. Despite looking utterly crestfallen herself, when she saw Starlight enter the room, she got up and opened her arms for Starlight.

She wasted no time hugging Celestia, unable to hold in her tears.

“It’s alright, Starlight,” she said softly, “Just let it out.”

She didn’t say anything. She just, let Celestia hold her as she cried into her bosom. In one action, Blueblood split the team so much that now Starlight wasn’t sure if they’d be able to rescue Rarity. If this really was him forcing himself onto her somehow…

She hated Blueblood so much in this moment.

end song

Lunch Time

Starlight was barely there in class today. Mostly she was just drifting, waiting for the day to end so she could go see Igor and Victor. She hated needing to rely on them so much, but right now she needed a direction. Something to cling to.

As she sat down at her usual bench, she just looked up at the sky and thought to herself. She’d seen Rarity in the halls a few times throughout the day, but each time Rarity avoided her. It was subtle, but it was clear that Rarity didn’t want to be in the same area as Starlight. One time though, she actually did see Rarity and Blueblood walking off together, which naturally he threw in Starlight’s face with a look.

She was really happy that Trixie wasn’t here to see this.

A Small Distance - Blue Reflection

Right as she closed her eyes, she felt someone sit down beside her. She opened her eyes and saw Sweetie Belle sitting there looking at her.

“You look upset,” Sweetie Belle said bluntly, “I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Just, worried about someone,” Starlight said sitting up, “A friend of mine, needs help. But, they seem like they don’t want help. I know that they do, but…”

Sweetie Belle nodded, “It’s hard, when you know something that other people don’t, and you can’t tell anyone. They need help, but you can’t get them to admit it.”

“You too?” Starlight asked.

Sweetie nodded, “I heard Cinch yelling at Miss President before the game yesterday. Something about the Diamond Dogs. I only caught the end of it, but Cinch told Miss President to “make them go away or she’ll do it herself”.”

Starlight frowned, “Wait. Cinch is making Rarity deal with the Diamond Dogs by herself?”

Sweetie Belle nodded, “It’s her, right? She’s the friend you want to help?” Starlight was a bit wide eyed by how perceptive Sweetie Belle was, “Normally you and Rarity seem closer, but today she’s avoiding you. Did you two have a fight?”

“Something like that,” Starlight sighed, “She, did something that, hurt. I want to believe she had her reasons for it, but she won’t tell me what it is.”

Sweetie looked down at her lap, “She’s like that. She doesn’t like asking for help.”

“You’ve tried,” Starlight realized.

“I know there isn’t much I can do, but I want to help her,” she pulled out what seemed to be a small picture and held it close to her chest, “It’s, important that I’m there for her…”

“Even if this isn’t a crush, you seem to really love Rarity,” Starlight smiled, more so when Sweetie nodded.

“I do. I love her so much, and I want to be someone she can count on,” Sweetie teared up, “But… all I can do is, cry and play chess…”

“That’s not true at all,” Starlight said, “Because right now, you’re helping her and you don’t even realize it.”

“I, am?” Sweetie asked slowly.

“What do you think of her? Of Rarity? As a person?” Starlight asked Sweetie Belle, who once again looked at the small picture in her hands.

“Rarity is… lonely,” Sweetie said softly, “She doesn’t have friends besides you and Applejack, and she doesn’t rely on others. She's a good person, but she pushes other people away, whenever they get close. But, not because she wants to be alone. I think she, feels like she has to be alone.”

“Why do you say that?” Starlight asked.

“One time, I saw Rarity sitting by herself on a bleacher after school,” Sweetie said, “It was early this year, right after she finished getting yelled at by Cinch. She was crying really hard, and she was holding herself while she cried,” she pocketed the picture and hugged herself looking at Starlight, “Like this.”

“Really…?” Starlight asked softly. That was telling.

“It’s the same way I cry when I’m alone, or if Mom isn’t there to comfort me,” Sweetie explained, “It doesn’t really help much though. Really, it just makes me want someone else to hug me more.”

First off, oh God this girl was impressive. She had an emotional depth that put even Starlight to shame, despite being awkward. Second off though, that did match up with how her emotions felt. She was lonely. Incredibly lonely.

“Sweetie Belle, thank you,” Starlight smiled softly, “At the very least, you helped clear up two things for me. That Rarity does need help, and that I want to help her.” she took her hands, “So never think you can only cry and play chess. You help plenty, just by being a kind and caring person.”

Sweetie looked at Starlight surprised, but then smiled, “Alright. I’ll remember that. Thank you, Starlight.”

Starlight smiled in return, feeling the warmth and care from this young girl. If she was somehow Rarity’s little sister, she was a really sweet little sister. Starlight felt significantly closer to Sweetie Belle.

Since Trixie wasn’t with her today, Starlight actually ate lunch with Sweetie Belle, talking about various things. She was actually really easy to get along with.

After School

Starlight bade all of her friends farewell after school, choosing not to go to Student Council today. She just, couldn’t face Rarity just yet, and she really needed to meet with Igor. As such, after school she made her way to the park. Once she reached the Velvet Room door, she saw Victor reading a newspaper as per usual on the bench beside it.

“Ah, Miss Glimmer,” he got up and bowed to her, “The Master has been expecting you.”

“Igor knew I was coming?” Starlight asked.

“Indeed. Please, step this way,” he presented the Velvet Room door to Starlight. She pulled out her key to unlock the door, going inside.

Aria of the Soul - Persona 3, 4, and 5

When she arrived inside the Velvet Room, she was pleased to see that the elevator was still rising, and at the same speed. For some reason, she was worried it’d stopped.

“Welcome, to the Velvet Room,” Igor greeted Starlight, “I was wondering when I’d see you.”

“Victor said you were expecting me,” Starlight said, taking her seat before his desk.

“I had a premonition that your journey was at a crossroads,” Igor said, “In it, I saw the Magician, the Chariot, and the Lovers all stalled, uncertain of what direction to walk in. You were there, and you knew where you wanted to go, but not how to get there. This is related to the individual you are currently trying to save, is it not?”

That was, pretty accurate actually. She wanted to help Rarity, but trying to reach her Dungeon was proving to be harder by the second. Both because they couldn’t find the damn place, but also because Rarity was pushing everyone away.

“Let’s see if we can gleam a bit about this individual,” Igor suggested, his tarot deck appearing before Starlight, “Think of this person, and place your hand on the deck. When you’re ready, draw the top card.”

Starlight closed her eyes, placing a hand on the deck. She thought of Rarity, how poised and powerful she seemed at first, but also how terrifying she was the more she looked into her. She thought about how callous and selfish she sounded last night, and how it didn’t match with what she’d see before at all. She thought of how warm and affectionate she was when it came to Applejack, and how natural that felt. As if in that moment, she was showing her true self, or at least genuine joy.

And, she thought about the image Sweetie Belle gave her, of a Rarity who was broken, crying, and alone, wishing someone could embrace her. Seeing that, she almost envisioned herself embracing Rarity.

And on that image, she drew the top card. On the table, she saw an image of a man hanging upside down on a cross of sorts. The man seemed oddly at peace, with a golden halo around his head, and with his hands behind his back, looking calm. Almost like this compromising position, he chose for himself.

But from the direction of the card, and the symbols on it, Starlight realized it was actually upside down.

“Well, this explains quite a bit,” Igor said, smile ever present as he examined the card, “The one you seek to rescue is The Hanged Man.”

“Is that, a bad card?” Starlight asked carefully.

“Truly, no card is good or bad in the Tarot, but each card does have two different meanings,” Igor explained, “Normally, the Hanged Man represents surrender, patience, and sacrifice. One who represent this card, is an individual who is in a period of uncertainty, and is contemplative, willing to ride the waves of fate to their conclusion. Tricksters of the past have come across this card when they met an individual trapped between two or more roads. This feels similar to your own plight, does it not?”

Wow. That was, exactly what was going on, for both herself and Rarity. Starlight wasn’t sure which Rarity was the “real” Rarity at the moment. The kind loving girl who protected her students, or the vicious and downright selfish girl who had sex with Blueblood knowing full well it’d hurt Starlight and Trixie.

Now Starlight wondered. Did Rarity even know which was real anymore…?

“However, this card, is in the Reversed Position,” Igor explained, “Which does change the meaning to one, less productive.”

“What is it Reversed?” Starlight asked.

“The Reversed Hanged Man represents procrastination, hypocrisy, and a victim mentality. The individual represented in this card, I see them being pulled in two separate directions, feeling as though this is the best they can hope for. They’re trying to accomplish something important to themselves, but continuously fail at doing so. Perhaps, because they are not being truthful to who they are, or because they themselves have lost sight of who they are.”

“Rarity…” Starlight looked down, realizing that her suspicions were right. Rarity did need help, and probably wanted that help. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask for it, and Starlight didn’t even know how to give it to her, “How do I help her? She has a Dungeon, but we can’t find it. Hers is just, somewhere in the Akashic Records, and no keyword we’ve found has narrowed it down at all.”

Igor nodded, drawing another card and looking at it carefully, “Hrm… this, may be difficult, but I’ve trusted fate before, and it has yet, to lead me astray. Are you willing to take a chance, and let the waves of fate guide you?”

Well, trying to control the situation thus far didn’t do anything. So sure. She’d trust fate. What did he suggest they do?

“For now, absolutely nothing,” Igor said, shocking Starlight, “The answer will come to you, but not through your normal means. Simply follow your impulses, and trust your inner voice,” he placed the card he drew on the table, “It will guide you in the right direction.”

Starlight looked down at the card. It was the High Priestess.

Igor reached over and took Starlight’s hand, “Trust me. You will be able to save this individual. In the process, you will gain a valuable ally. One I foresee being pivotal in the challenges ahead.”

“A valuable, ally?” Starlight asked. She had a feeling Rarity could get a Persona, but Igor made it sound like this was a Persona they needed.

“Indeed. In many of my visions concerning you, I see you standing beside a white wolf. This wolf radiates ferocity, but has a noble heart, and is a loyal companion. They will become an important ally to you in the battles ahead.”

Starlight didn’t know what this “white wolf” was, or what it represented, but she knew one thing. In order to get it, she needed to save Rarity.

Starlight smiled and squeezed Igor’s hand, “Thank you, Igor.”

“You’re most welcome, Miss Glimmer,” Igor said softly. She bade both him and Victor farewell, and left the Velvet Room.

Memories of the City - Persona 3

Once outside, she thought about what Igor said. Her inner voice? Well, she did talk to Morgana a lot, and she was in a sense her inner voice. Maybe she could give her some insight? She closed her eyes and sat down at the bench, calling out to Morgana.

“This is a tricky situation, my pupil,” Morgana’s voice echoed in her mind, “Being completely honest, I do not have much insight in this.”

Starlight sighed sitting back. She was really hoping that Morgana had an idea of what to do.

“However, the Nose drawing the High Priestess seemed significant. Perhaps, we should consult with OUR High Priestess?”

Consult with Diamond Tiara? Well, she did say that she’d help them if they needed it. She wasn’t sure how she could help them though.

“Neither am I, but what have we to lose? We are already at a loss, my pupil. We might as well at least try.”

Well, fair enough. Starlight thanked Morgana for her input, and called Diamond Tiara’s cellphone.

“Hey Starlight. Um, you okay? You seemed kinda out of it at school,” Diamond asked.

“It’s, Rarity. We’re no closer to finding her Dungeon, and, I’m worried that something happened yesterday that shifted it. If it gets too bad before we get in, she could die,” Starlight explained.

“Oh no… I’ll be honest, I had a feeling something bad happened concerning that. Rarity was super standoffish today to everyone, and when Blueblood spoke to her, she gave him a super dirty look like she was going to kill him.”

"That's telling,” Starlight muttered, “Listen, when you go to sleep tonight, could you walk around the Akashic Recorods? See if anything stands out, or just, look around for books that call to you?”

“Sure. I’ll see what I can find. I was going to head to bed a bit early to do some reading there anyway,” Diamond said, “Will you be there tonight? If so, we can meet up.”

“I, don’t know when I’ll arrive but, I’ll probably be there,” Starlight said.

“Alright. I’ll keep an eye on anything if I find it,” Diamond said, “It’ll be okay, Starlight. You’re not alone.”

Starlight thanked Diamond, saying goodbye before hanging up. She could actually picture Morgana sitting on the bench beside her, “So, now what, teacher?” she asked her Persona.

“Now comes the hard part,” Morgana said looking at Starlight, “We wait, and trust in our High Priestess.”

Evening

Qualia - Blue Reflection

Diamond Tiara drank her special herbal tea she always drank before lucid dreaming, and then drifted off to sleep, focusing on the image of the door to the Akashic Records. It didn’t take long for her to get it right, and now she could Lucid Dream so well that she didn’t even feel her real body.

She’d already been here a bunch of times, reading different books and learning new skills. Nothing too big, but she did use this to learn how to cook. She’d always wanted to learn, but at first could only make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich on her own. Now she was able to help the chefs at home make dinner.

This place really did have power to it. Like, real power. She wondered what the limit of that power was. Was there a way for her to get one of those Persona things? Was there a book to teach her how to do that? All questions she’d worry about later.

Diamond decided to check out that section she’d been dying to look at. She saw a few school desks scattered around, and had a theory about what that area was supposed to be. She wasn’t disappointed either.

“So these are the school’s Akashic Records,” Diamond said walking around, “Kinda feels naughty being here. Wonder if I’ll find the answers to the Mid Terms here,” she giggled, “It’d be funny if I could just leave with the answers, and then take the test knowing all of the answers ahead of time. But, I better not. Starlight would be so mad at me if I abused the power like that.”

“Man, that girl’s mind is a mess.”

Huh? Was that from the floor above her?

“Indeed. I feel bad leaving her like that,” another voice said. Their voice deep, sensual, and kind of aloof sounding.

“Why did we leave her?” a familiar voice asked, “Couldn’t we have done the same for her that you did for me?”

“Her situation was too delicate,” the sensual voice said, the three of them walking off, “We act in haste, we’ll just make the situation worse.”

“That sounded, like one of Starlight’s friends,” Diamond realized, “The super affectionate and clingy one.” she saw a lift close by and took that up to get to the floor they were on. Diamond found them pretty quickly walking away. Sure enough, one was the girl in the purple dress and orange hair. She kinda looked like…

Wait…! Wasn’t that the lead singer of the Sirens?! Adagio Dazzle?! Starlight was friends with- focus Diamond. Focus. Have your fangasm later. This could be important.

“I hate to say it, but she might be damaged goods,” the first girl shrugged. She was wearing a sexy red dress and had red and orange hair, a lot like fire.

“Now, I wouldn’t go that far, Sunset,” the other unknown witch said, wearing a green and black mini dress, green hair, and a more traditional witch’s hat like Starlight, “The Left Eye has shined its Light onto her, so she is one of those chosen by fate.”

“So then, what do we do, Chrysalis?” Adagio asked.

“We wait to see if the Right Eye shines its light onto her as well,” the green witch, Chrysalis apparently, said, “Your friend is bathed in the Right Eye’s Light, so maybe she can offer her some aid.”

“Left Eye…? Right Eye…?” Diamond asked thoughtfully, “What does she mean by that?” her eyes widened, “Hang on! It sounded like they were leaving someone’s…” she checked to see if the three Witches were still around. Good, they weren’t. She felt she could trust Adagio at least, but she didn’t know the other two, and she didn’t think Starlight knew them either.

She then began running through the isle of bookshelves. Somewhere there had to be something. Maybe this was the Dungeon they were looking for.

Her search led her deep into this section, to the point where she had to go out of her way to find it. It almost seemed like it didn’t want to be found. But off in a corner of the Library, in what looked almost like an abandoned section, was a section devoid of books save for a couple scattered around.

And right in front of a completely bare bookshelf, was a black door with sinister black and red mist radiating off of it. It looked a bit like the school gate.

“This… is a Dungeon, isn’t it?” Diamond asked approaching the door. The closer she got to it, the more her heart raced, till it became too much and she backed away from it in horror, pressing herself against another shelf, “Okay… that was intense. This place, it’s not supposed to be here, is it?” she looked around at the various books still present.

Most of them looked like they belonged on other shelves. They were on all different subjects, from information on various music groups and anime, to subjects on fashion and even politics. Fantasy books, biographies, none that seemed to pertain to a single person, but rather things that a person might have liked. It looked almost like whoever was here last, just borrowed books from different sections and then, forgot where they went so just kept them here.

But one thing shot out to Diamond as important. There were a lot of books on farming, apples, and family dynamics. These seemed to be really precious to whoever gathered these books here.

“This, this is it,” Diamond realized, “This is Miss President’s Nightmare!” she looked around frantically, “Oooooh, they’re not going to find this on their own…! I could wake up and call them, but what if I forget how to get here…? What if I can’t get back to sleep…?” she tapped her foot, “Think Diamond…! Think…! There has to be a way to reach them from here…!”

“Is something the matter?”

“Oh good! Someone works here! I need help wi-” she froze, seeing the oddest looking man before her. He had a very nice pinstriped suit on, but the longest limbs, the creepiest smile on his face, bloodshot eyes, and the longest nose Diamond had ever seen.

The scary looking man chuckled, “I’m sorry, I did not mean to alarm you. I was merely exploring the library, and I heard you from a distance. You sounded troubled.”

He, didn’t seem bad. Kind of scary, but his voice was oddly, soothing. Like a wise old man.

“Um, it’s fine sir. I’m just, trying to find a way to reach my friend,” Diamond said looking at the door again, “I think this is something she was looking for. Thing is, if I leave to contact her, I might not be able to get back to lead her to it, and I don’t think she’s here yet.”

“Ah. You need to reach someone from the waking world, then,” the man said, “I happen to find, calling someone on the phone works best.”

He held his hand out to a desk close by, where Diamond saw an old looking phone. It was purple and blue, and had one of those dial circles on it that old phones used instead of numbered buttons. It felt, evocative to look at, and made Diamond feel funny. Almost like it didn't entirely belong.

“A, phone? Could I use that, to call the real world?” Diamond asked the man, who chuckled.

“Why don’t you try and find out?” he offered, his smile ever present. He almost seemed, excited by the prospect himself.

Diamond shrugged and walked over to the phone. She imagined having her cellphone with her and searched through her contact list. She wanted to test this out on someone she knew was still up now. Maybe Spoony? She did stay up late a lot. She carefully dialed Silver Spoon’s number and waited to see if she’d pick up. This was crazy. There was no way this cou-

“Hello? Who’s this?”

Diamond’s eyes slowly widened. That, that wasn’t possible. She was calling Spoony’s number, from the Dream World?

“Is this a scam?” Silver Spoon asked, sounding a bit annoyed at the silence, “I bet that’s why I saw a bunch of random characters, isn’t it?”

Diamond quickly hung up the phone and just stared at it, “Holy shit…! Holy shit holy shit holy shit!” she shut her eyes tightly, “I called Spoony’s phone. I called her phone, from the Akashic Records.” she then realized, “I can call Starlight’s phone from the Akashic Records. I can call Starlight’s phone from the Akashic Records! Thank you Mr-” she turned to thank the man, who was now gone, “Long, nosed, man? Who was that anyway? Ugh! Doesn’t matter!” she pulled out her phone again and dialed Starlight, “I gotta reach her before she goes to sleep!”

end song

Starlight and Trixie weren’t asleep yet. The two of them spent the night together just cuddling, Starlight trying to keep Trixie’s spirits high. She told her team about what Igor had told her to do, so now all they could do was wait.

Which in Starlight’s case, was really hard to do.

“Feeling better?” Starlight asked Trixie. The two had already changed into their sleep attire; Starlight’s sheer night gown that she’d one day remember to get a bathrobe to go with it, and for Trixie just some lacy lingerie.

“A, bit,” Trixie admitted, “Still just a bit, iffy I suppose.”

“That’s fair,” Starlight sighed, nuzzling her girlfriend.

“Shame Rarity was avoiding you all day,” Trixie sighed, “Or maybe, that’s for the best at the moment?”

“Really, I wish she hadn’t,” Starlight admitted.

“You still want to help her, don’t you?” Trixie asked Starlight, who nodded.

“I refuse to believe that she did that of her own free will,” Starlight said, “And if what Igor said is true, then we need to save her, if nothing else so we’ll get this white wolf for our team.”

Trixie took a deep breath, “I see.”

“What about you?” Starlight asked, “Are you, coming with me?”

“Starlight, I-” she was cut off by the sound of Starlight’s phone ringing, “What perfect timing.”

“Want me to ignore it?” Starlight asked, “This is our time, after all.”

“No, you better get it,” Trixie said, “They might keep calling if we ignore it, and it could be important Student Council stuff.”

True. She did only go the one day this week. She sighed and picked up the phone, surprised by the number on it. They were just, random characters. Still, she answered it all the same, “Hello?”

“Starlight? It’s me, Diamond.”

Riku theme - Kingdom Hearts 2

“Diamond?” Starlight asked, looking at the number again. Were the characters, different now? “I thought you went to bed early?”

“I did.” Diamond explained, “Still asleep technically.”

“Hang on, what do you mean you’re still asleep?” Starlight asked.

“So, don’t be alarmed, okay? But I’m calling you, from the Akashic Records.”

Starlight’s eyes widened. She was, where exactly? She turned to Trixie and told her where she was getting this call from, causing Trixie to shoot out of her bed.

“What?! Diamond’s calling us from the library?!” she cried, “Put her on speaker!”

Starlight nodded, and put Diamond on speaker phone, “Diamond, can you hear me?”

“Yep. I hear you. I also hear Trixie. Hi Trixie.”

“Hey Diamond,” Trixie said slowly, “So um, how are you doing this exactly…?”

“This odd looking man showed me this phone on a desk,” Diamond explained, “He had a balding head, bloodshot eyes, he was smiling, like constantly grinning, and he had the longest nose I’d ever seen. Seriously, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it, but I didn’t want to be rude.”

“Oh my God,” Trixie backed away a bit, “Starlight, isn’t that what you said, Igor looks like?”

Starlight nodded slowly. She’d never told Diamond Tiara about Igor. Not what he looked like at least. This was real.

“Alright, so um, this is neat,” Starlight said, “But, why are you…”

“Right! So um, I think I found it.” Diamond said, “The door you were looking for? The one leading to Rarity’s Dungeon?”

“You, found Rarity’s Dungeon?” Starlight asked, covering her mouth in shock. She couldn’t believe the coincidences at work here.

“Let’s see, scary black door, black and red aura, radiating this energy of danger? That’s a Dungeon, right?”

“Yeah. That’d be a Dungeon,” Trixie confirmed with a slow nod.

“It’s in the section for our school,” Diamond said, “Let me tell you, I lucked out big time finding this.”

“Where is it?” Starlight asked, “Like, what’s the space around it like?”

“That’s just it. It wasn’t in a place that stood out,” Diamond explained, “It was all the way in the back, like, in one of those sections of a library where no one goes. Also, all of the books here? They look borrowed from other shelves. Nothing here is original.”

“No wonder we couldn’t find it,” Trixie reasoned, “Any book there probably has a copy somewhere else.”

Starlight nodded, “Okay, Diamond? Stay on the line, okay? I’m going to gather my friends, and we’ll lock onto your location. We’re going to use you as a beacon.”

“Alright. I can see the door from here, so that’s good,” Diamond said.

Starlight took a deep breath and went to gather everyone into the computer room. Right now, she didn’t care if they weren’t decent or drifting to sleep. This was important. They needed to jump on this NOW.

Twilight had Starlight’s phone and was talking to Diamond on it herself while at her terminal. Everyone else stood behind her with baited breath as she worked, until her computer made an odd sounding alarm.

“Dungeon located!” Twilight said, “It’s in section Z-17? Oh my God.”

“What is it?” Celestia asked.

“There, was virtually no way to find this with this system,” Twilight said, a look of pure shock on her face, “Like Diamond said, none of the books still there are native TO that section save for a couple, and all of those have super vague titles.”

“Holy shit, this is a lucky find,” Rainbow Dash muttered, a similar look on her face as Twilight’s, and pretty much everyone there. To find this Dungeon, through sheer luck, it was terrifying to say the least.

“Can you get inside?” Starlight asked, “To give us a layout of the place?”

“Theoretically, I could,” Twilight turned to them, putting the phone back on speaker and handing it back to Starlight, “But Rarity’s time is running out. We need to start rescuing her in the Dream in the next few days, otherwise she will die.”

“Then, I know where I’m going,” Starlight nodded.

“Whoa whoa, hold on,” Rainbow Dash said, “You’re serious about going in there blind? Remember what happened the last time you did that?”

“I do,” Starlight turned to everyone, “But that’s why I need you to come with me for this. All of you.”

“Starlight…” Pinkie Pie looked away biting her lip.

Friends in my Heart - Kingdom Hearts 2

“I get it, okay? What Rarity did, that’s not cool. I am mad at her for doing that, but more than anything, I’m mad that she won’t tell me why she did it in the first place,” she placed a hand over her heart, “Also, I know what it’s like to feel alone. When my Mother died, none of my relatives stepped forward to help me. Some of them even blamed me for killing her,” she closed her eyes and teared up, “It hurts knowing that, they were technically right…”

Trixie grimaced, rubbing her arm.

“Rarity is alone too, just like me. Just like us,” Starlight pressed, looking at all of them desperately, “Every one of us here in this room knows what it’s like to be alone! To feel like no one is hearing them cry for help! To feel like they’re beyond help! We all know what her pain is like! Like you said, Rainbow Dash! Can we really turn our back on someone who needs help, when we know their pain, and we have the power to save them?!”

Rainbow Dash groaned rubbing her eyes, “Tossing that one back at me, eh?”

Shockingly, even Celestia looked away somberly at Starlight’s words, rubbing her arm.

“I don’t know if I have enough time to save her now,” Starlight admitted, “But I know that if I don’t have my team with me, I will fail.” she closed her eyes crying, “Please…! Please help me rescue her…!”

Twilight looked at Starlight a bit wide eyed, and then at everyone else.

“You know, when you put it that way,” Trixie admitted, “I’d feel like a terrible person not going in there. Also, I promised you I’d be by your side no matter what.”

“You, are going to need a healer in there, after all,” Pinkie Pie added with a soft smile.

“Well, that clinches it for me,” Rainbow Dash sighed, “Wherever she goes, I go too.”

“I know I’m not right there in the room with you girls,” Diamond said on the phone, “But you know my stance. I’m following you Starlight, wherever you go.”

“Thank you,” Starlight said, the four girls hugging now, “Thank you so much.”

Twilight let out a breath, “So that’s it, huh? The power of the Trickster…”

Celestia smiled warmly in approval.

“So Leader, we heading in?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We are,” Starlight nodded, “Right now. We’re not letting Rarity wait a moment longer for the sun to rise.”

“Sunrise…” Twilight muttered, “Hey, we, still haven’t named the coven, right? Cause, I just had an idea for a name.”

“Oh?” Trixie asked, all of them turning to Twilight.

“How about, Daughters of the Rising Sun?” Twilight suggested, “For one, it calls to what we do, that being rescuing people from their Nightmares. We have Eos as a Divine Mother, and she’s the Goddess of the Dawn. Finally, it kind of references Ms. Tia as well, since she’s kind of our Mother here, her name is solar themed, and she and I come from Japan, aka, the Land of the Rising Sun.”

“Oooooh! That’s so cool sounding!” Diamond said from the phone, “ Go with that! I like that name!”

“That, does have a nice ring to it,” Rainbow Dash agreed.

“And we did say we wanted to have a name for our coven before going into rescue Rarity,” Trixie smiled.

Pinkie Pie nodded, “That’s a great name! Good pick Twilight!”

“An excellent pick,” Starlight smiled at Twilight, “That’s our name then. The Daughters of the Rising Sun. Thank you, Twilight.”

Twilight blushed looking back at the terminal, “Well, since you seem intent on making my non magical ass a member of your coven, I figured I should contribute something.”

“Why don’t you become Starlight’s thrall like me?” Diamond suggested.

“The term thrall essentially means “slave”, and I refuse to enslave myself to anyone, least of all Sabrina the Teenage Witch over there,” Twilight shot, folding her arms.

Starlight sighed smiling. One day, she’d admit that they were friends.

“We’ll do the ritual later to make it official,” Celestia said, “For now, let’s focus on getting into Rarity’s Dungeon.”

“Agreed,” Starlight said, “Girls, we’ve got a Nightmare to end.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and went down to their rooms, doing their nightly rituals needed to get comfortable, and then to sleep. All four of them made sure to put their Channeling Rings on beforehand.

Late Night

Qualia - Blue Reflection

The walk to where Diamond Tiara was led them SUPER out of the way of where they usually explored. Not only was it further down than any of them had been, but it went higher up than they normally went, and was out of sight of any other shelves.

“Okay, I gotta know Diamond,” Trixie began, “How the actual fuck did you find this?”

“I saw some other witches leaving this area,” Diamond explained, “They talked like they’d just left a Dungeon.”

“Wait. Other witches?” Twilight asked.

“One of them was that girl in the purple dress that helped you rescue me,” Diamond said, “There were two other girls with her. One with long green hair and a voice perfect for phone sex.”

“Of course…” Twilight muttered.

“The other one had fiery red hair,” Diamond said, “But she was kind of a bitch. She said Rarity was damaged goods, and made it seem like she was beyond help.”

“Oh Rarity…” Pinkie Pie closed her eyes sadly.

“Shows what she knows,” Rainbow Dash said, holding the hilt of her sword, “Know what? I’m pumped now. I’m gonna rescue her just to spite that bitch.”

Starlight nodded and looked at the door. She didn’t like the idea that someone else had just written Rarity off as a lost cause. She was going to save her. No matter what.

“Let’s go,” Starlight said, “To save our friend.” with that, the five of them made their way through the door, thought Diamond eventually vanished into Starlight’s Channeling Ring where it was safest.

Scraper Sky High - Under Night In-Birth

When they arrived at the other side, they were greeted by the sight of an unrealistically large, high security prison. It was shaped like a tower, not as large as Elysium, which seemed to almost go on forever, but it was very big. There was a courtyard surrounding the prison, barred by an electric fence to prevent escape, spotlights looking all around, and surrounding the building was a dense forest that seemed to lead into a city of sorts.

Something told Starlight that the city was just as important as the prison.

“Whoa…” Rainbow Dash looked up, “Okay, um… I don’t know what I expected. But uh… that ain’t it.”

“And Rarity’s somewhere in that, right?” Trixie asked.

“That, or she’s in the city,” Twilight answered, “I can confirm that this is in fact, Rarity’s Dungeon, so she’s somewhere here.”

“But why a Prison?” Dash asked folding her arms, “I mean, Trixie’s was a circus right?” Starlight nodded, “That makes sense when you consider how she was with Blueblood. Hell, the whole fairy tale village thing makes sense for Pinkie Pie when you know her.”

“But a Prison?” Trixie asked, “Yeah… I’m having a hard time making the connection to that.”

“Girls! I get it!” Pinkie Pie cried, standing by a sign, “I know what the Prison is!”

“What is it?” Starlight asked, all of them running up to her.

“It’s the school,” Pinkie Pie said, pointing to the sign, “This is how Rarity views Canterlot High!”

Starlight looked at the sign and frowned. Sure enough, it read “Canterlot Boarding Academy”, with an arrow pointing right at the prison.

“And that city? A lot of those buildings look like buildings in Canterlot,” Rainbow Dash added.

“But from here, it looks almost ruined,” Twilight pointed out, “Okay, now we’re starting to make sense of things.”

“This is literally how Rarity sees her world,” Starlight realized looking around.

“Sad as it is, yeah. And a lot of this looks like it was recently inflicted onto the Dungeon.”

“Meaning that her Dungeon has shifted,” Trixie said, summoning her cards and holding one up, “It was Blueblood. I know it was him! Twilight, is his Shadow in here?”

“Uh, h-hang on. Let me check,” Twilight said, “Sorry, but I can’t tell from here. I can’t even tell where Rarity is.”

Trixie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Starlight rubbed Trixie’s back and asked if she was okay, “No, I’m not. I feel like a total bitch right now, thinking that Rarity fucked Blublood because she wanted it,” she held a hand to her head, “But that’s his game…! That’s what he did to me…! Damn it…! I fell for it…!”

Pinkie Pie went over to hug Trixie from behind.

“Hey, Trixie? I understand your anger. You have every right to be upset, but berating yourself isn’t going to solve this,” Twilight said, “Let’s just head in and see what we can find”

“Yeah. Right,” Trixie said softly, “Thanks Twilight.”

“Please just go back to calling me Twi-Twi,” Twilight sighed, “Hearing my actual name come from your mouth is weird.”

Trixie laughed lightly, “Sure thing, Twi-Twi. Now, let’s go stage a prison break.”

Starlight nodded, leading her team closer to the Prison. She figured that was a good starting place, since it was right in front of them. Though they ran into an immediate issue. How were they going to get inside?

“I see two guards out front,” Twilight said, “If we can get past them, then we can rush through and hide somewhere in the courtyard.”

“They’re more human like, right?” Pinkie Pie asked, “How do we get the drop on them?”

“Why don’t you show us how it’s done, Mistress?” Trixie purred to Starlight, who shuddered in delight. Seriously, hearing that on the field was so hot.

Starlight snuck her way over to the Shadows and jumped on one’s back, “Show your face!” she demanded, ripping the mask off and surprising both Shadows. One turned into a Leanan Sidhe, but the one she surprised turned into a new one. It looked like a large lion with two heads, brown fur and a green mane, and a scaled tail almost like a snake or dragon.

E.SYNAPSE - Blue Reflection: Second Light

“The new one is Orthrus!” Twilight said, “Take them out quickly before we get ambushed!”

Rainbow Dash held up her Channeling Ring and sword, “Come forth! My other self!” Eclair Farron appeared from behind Rainbow Dash and charged at Orthrus with her blade.

“MORGANA!!!” Starlight shouted, summoning her default Persona and casting Sukunda on Orthrus to slow him down, making it easier for Eclair/Dash’s blades to hit the two headed Lion, who was meeting her blade with his tail ferociously.

Leanan Sidhe held out her hand, firing a wave of darkness at Pinkie Pie, who rolled to the side just in time out of the way, “Trixie, could you give me a hand here?!”

“You got it! Persona!” Trixie called out, Elenora manifesting before her, “Agilao!”

Elenora created two fireballs in her hands and threw them both at Leanan Sidhe, knocking her down before she could get another attack in, knocking her down.

“Hit ‘em hard!” Trixie called out to Pinkie Pie.

BATON PASS!!!!

“Leave this to me!” she held her hands together in prayer, “Please Serenity! Protect my friends!”

Pinkie Pie’s Persona appeared and immediately jumped into the air, and gave Leanan Sidhe a powerful flying drop kick, knocking her further back.

At the same time, Eclair and Morgana traded blows with Orthrus, who jumped back away from them and then quickly charged into Eclair Farron, biting into her and hitting a critical point, as Dash cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Orthrus then turned to Morgana and Starlight and shot two fireballs at them. Both of them blocked thankfully, and Starlight then ran to get out of the way of its next strike, switching Personas.

“ANGEL!!!” she called out, summoning her and casting Dia on Rainbow Dash, healing her just in case.

“These Shadows are stronger than what we’re used to!” Twilight said, “I think they’ve gained strength from the state of Rarity’s mind!”

“Don’t give up!” Starlight called out to her team, “We can win this! Twilight, what’s Orthrus’ weakness? Do we know yet?”

“In the process of scanning… Ice!” she called out, “Use Bufu spells!”

“Got it! JACK FROST!!!” Starlight called out, summoning the tiny snowman and casting Bufula on Orthrus, knocking him down in one blow, “Trixie, hit Leanan Sidhe with a fire attack to knock her back down! We’re going for an All Out Attack!”

Trixie nodded to Starlight, holding up her Ring, “Light ‘em up, Elenora!” once again, her Persona threw twin Agilao fireballs at the blond haired Shadow, knocking her back onto the ground.

“Hang on!” Pinkie Pie cast Dia on Rainbow Dash, helping her up, “Are you okay Dashie?”

“Hell yeah!” Dash confirmed with a nod, “Let’s end this before they wake up!”

The four of them summoned their weapons, and launched an All Out Attack onto the enemies, killing both Shadows instantly.

Scraper Sky High - Under Night In-Birth

Once the Shadows were dealt with, they ran into the courtyard, hiding behind a crate just in time as they saw three Shadows run up to the entrance, looking around frantically.

“Intruders!” one of the Shadows said, “They might be more witches!”

“Scan the parameter!” another one said, “The Warden ordered us to make sure no one gets to her special prisoner!”

“They mean Rarity!” Pinkie Pie whispered, "She's the special prisoner, I know it!"

“And if this place is the school to Rarity’s subconscious,” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, “I wonder who the Warden is…?”

“Warden aside, I found Rarity!” Twilight called out, “She’s in the courtyard, and I’m detecting a powerful Shadow close to her!”

“Might be the Warden! Lead the way, Twilight!” Starlight said to her wisp, who took off deeper into the courtyard. For the most part, they tried to stealth their way through, only running into a few Shadows here and there. Like Twilight said, the Shadows were a lot stronger than what they’d run into up to this point. Most of them were Shadows they’d seen already, but that didn’t matter.

Maybe this was what those other witches meant by “Rarity’s mind being a mess”. Did they understand something about how Dungeons worked that they didn’t?

After a bit of exploring, they heard a shrill, rage filled scream.

Border of Insanity - Persona 4

“That’s right, bitch! Scream for me!”

“I hate you, so much…! I HATE YOU!!!”

“And yet you scream every time you cum for me, like the filthy slut you are!”

“That’s Rarity!” Twilight called out, “And she’s not alone!”

“No, I know that voice…!” Trixie pulled her hat over her eyes and trembling, “Blueblood…!”

“So the asshole was raping her,” Rainbow Dash seethed, “Pinkie Pie, I can’t promise I won’t kill this one.”

“Don’t worry,” Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes, “I’ll look away if he has an "accident".”

“For now, let’s just try to drive him away,” Twilight urged, “We’re here to save Rarity, not kill Blueblood.”

Starlight gripped her scythe tightly. If she had to do both tonight, she would.

They ran out into the main courtyard, where they saw a grizzly sight. Pinned to the ground was Rarity. She was wearing what looked like purple and black leather lingerie, but the bra was more of a harness, letting her breasts spill out, and she wore a garter belt with no panties. Black leather gloves and matching boots, both of which were in shackles. Around her neck was a black collar with a leash at the end, currently in the hands of Blueblood’s Shadow, who was simply wearing what he’d normally wear to school this time. His pants were down, and he was balls deep inside of Rarity, who was screaming and struggling to crawl away.

“Don’t pretend you don’t enjoy this!” Blueblood’s Shadow seethed, pounding into her, “I saw you with the Diamond Dog leader! You like it rough just like this, don’t you?!”

Rarity screamed, not in fear, but in hatred, “You motherfucker! I’LL MURDER YOU FOR THIS!!!”

“Do that, and you’re the one who’ll pay the price, Dirty Diamond!” he sneered, “Remember, I practically own this place thanks to my father’s contribution to the school! All you are is a lowly whore! You don’t have any real power here! Your position here is nothing!”

“Keep talking, that good shit, and I’ll show you JUST HOW FUCKING POWERLESS I AM!!!” Rarity screamed.

“Mistress, can I?!” Trixie asked, holding up her Ring.

“Please do it...!” Starlight commanded her Sub with a growl.

“ELENORA!!!” Trixie screamed, summoning her Persona who threw a fireball point blank at Blueblood’s Shadow, knocking him off of Rarity.

“Gah! What the?!” he sat up, seeing everyone gather around Rarity, Trixie standing front and center, “Oh, you witches again! And there’s more of you this time!”

“Rarity, are you okay?!” Pinkie Pie asked, trying to help her up, “He didn’t hurt you too badly, did he?!”

“W-what the fuck…?” Rarity asked looking at Pinkie Pie, “Why are you here…? And, why are you dressed like Sailor Moon…?”

“Don’t worry Rarity! You’re going to be okay now!” Pinkie Pie urged, “We’re here to protect you!”

“Protect me…? But, why are you-” she then looked ahead, seeing Rainbow Dash, Trixie, and Starlight there, her eyes locked onto the scythe wielding Trickster, “You…? You’re… here too…?”

Starlight turned to Rarity, “I don’t abandon my friends.”

Rarity blinked, biting her lip with an uncertain expression on her face.

“You… goddamn, motherfucking, son of a bitch!” Trixie screamed, stomping forward, “Abusing me wasn’t enough?! Now you’ve switched to Rarity?! Who’s next?! Gonna go for Applejack?! Or maybe try your luck on a Sophomore next?!”

Blueblood’s Shadow chuckled, “Oh no. Rarity was the one I wanted from the start. Being completely honest, if I’d have gotten a chance with her, I’d have dumped you in a heartbeat!”

Trixie’s eyes widened, “W-what…?”

“You got any idea how long I tried to get with that whore?” Blueblood’s Shadow got up, pulling his pants up and zipping them closed, “Back in Freshman Year though, she was perfect. Black leather jacket, skimpy top and mini skirt, white highlight in her hair, and this constant chip on her shoulder? Bitch like that just screams wild. But she acted all high and mighty, like she was better than me,” he chuckled, “To think, she was nothing more than a filthy, cum addicted slut the whole time!”

“You…!” Rainbow Dash seethed, electricity cackling around her, “Call her a slut again, and see what happens!”

“But it’s true!” he laughed, “Why do you think she’s called “Dirty” Diamond?! ‘Cause she likes rolling around in mud or something?! She acts all prim and proper, but she’s just a raging beast looking for her next orgasm! The bitch even fucks animals!”

“Shut up…!” Rarity demanded, holding her head, “Stop talking…!”

“Rarity…” Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened looking at her, “Don’t tell me, he’s telling the truth…”

“THAT’S NOT ME ANYMORE!!!” Rarity screamed, “I’M NOT A WHORE!!! I’M NOT DIRTY DIAMOND!!!”

Blueblood’s Shadow laughed, “That’s not what I saw in the alleyway! I still have the video as proof! You were begging the Diamond Dog leader for it! I just figure, if you want it so badly, why don’t I just give it to you myself?! Doesn’t really matter where it comes from right?!”

“SHUT UP!!!! SHUT, UP!!!!” Rarity screamed desperately before breaking down.

“So, why don’t you witches just move aside, and let us get back to what we were doing?” Blueblood’s Shadow sneered, “She’s not worth giving a damn about! She’s nothing more than a glorified set of holes for someone to stick their dick into!”

Trixie looked down, tightening her fists, “Know what? Maybe she is a slut. But that doesn’t give you the right, to take advantage of her, so you can feel powerful!” her Channeling Ring activated, and Elenora appeared behind her in the same position as Trixie, “It’s just like what you did to me! Taking advantage of my sexuality so you can get what you want!” both she and Elenora looked at him with wide, tear filled eyes and a hateful scowl, “I can’t do jack shit to you in the real world! But you’re on my turf now! Starlight! Everyone! Let’s how him why you don’t fuck with a witch!”

“Gladly!” Rainbow Dash drew her sword, “I’m gonna enjoy this!”

“Rarity?” Pinkie Pie said softly, “It’s okay. We’ll make it so he can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I, I don’t get this…!” Rarity said looking at Pinkie Pie, and then at Starlight, “Why are you here now…? What’s going on…?”

“Don’t worry about it for now,” Starlight urged, “Just, let us protect you. Please.”

Rarity looked at Starlight intently, and uncertain.

Starlight and Pinkie Pie stepped forward with Trixie and Rainbow Dash, and all four of them drew their weapons to engage Blueblood.

Blueblood spread his arms out looking at the witches, “Fine! If you want to protect that worthless whore, I’ll just do what I do to anything that gets in my way! I’ll just go through you!”

He was engulfed in a black aura and mist, and transformed into a large minotaur like Shadow, similar to what he turned into in Trixie’s Dungeon, only this time he was wearing his football jersey and helmet, his horns poking out of the sides. In his arms was a spiked football.

DNF FW15C -ii- - Blue Reflection

“I’m not detecting any real connection to this Shadow and the Dungeon,” Twilight said, “Seems he’s just capitalizing on the situation. Any power he has over her is superficial at best. If we take him out here, we might be able to drive his Shadow out of the Nightmare.”

“Drive me out?! I’d love to see you try!” Shadow Blueblood roared, charging forward to tackle the Witches. Starlight grabbed Rarity, and all of them scattered out of the way.

“I’ll lower his defense!” Starlight began, standing in front of Rarity, “Pinkie Pie, raise Trixie and Rainbow Dash’s attacks! Trixie and Dash, both of you are front line attackers! Go all out!”

“Gladly!” Trixie shouted.

“Will do, Leader!” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Understood!” Pinkie Pie nodded.

“JACK FROST!!!” Starlight called out, summoning her Persona and casting Rakunda on Blueblood, who flinched back from the purple wave hitting him.

“What the?!” he cried.

“Persona!” Pinkie Pie cried, summoning Serenity who danced around the field, casting Tarukaja on Rainbow Dash first, who wasted no time charging at Shadow Blueblood with her blade engulfed in electricity. Meanwhile, Trixie ran past him firing flaming cards out of her sleeve at his face, waiting for him to charge again before she summoned Elenora, who struck with a fiery spin kick.

“Starlight, let’s work together!” Trixie urged. Starlight nodded, switching to Morgana, and instantly feeling something within her stir. She ran over to Trixie and stood back to back with her, both of them holding their hands out.

“GO FORTH, OUR PERSONAS!” Both Morgana and Elenora manifested at the same time and flew into Shadow Blueblood. Morgana attacked first, slashing him a few times with her claws, followed by Elenora delivering a series of flaming kicks. This was followed by Morgana drilling into Shadow Blueblood’s chest, pushing him further back as Elenora launched a barrage of fireballs at Shadow Blueblood, knocking him onto one knee.

The two Personas held their hands out, Morgana’s claws extended, and Elenora’s hand holding a fireball. The two nodded to one another, and charged through Blueblood with a flaming X strike.

“Guh! Not bad!” Shadow Blueblood rose to his feet, “But don’t get cocky because there’s more of you!”

Shadow Blueblood jumped into the air and slammed his football onto the ground, causing a powerful shock wave to shoot out and hit all four of them, actually knocking all of them down from the impact! He then took the opportunity to tackle Starlight, making her fly back onto the ground right before Rarity, who looked down at her wide eyed, but then looked up at Blueblood as he continued his assault on all of them.

“Don’t worry!” Pinkie Pie said rising to her feet and summoning her Persona, “I’ve got this!”

Serenity appeared and danced around the field, spinning and twirling around as she cast Media on everyone, healing them all best as she could.

“Oh, I see!” Shadow Blueblood looked at the rabbit ballerina as she vanished, and then down at Pinkie Pie, “So you’re the medic! That means you’re going first!” he charged at Pinkie Pie next, who screamed as she rolled to the side out of the way.

“Leave her alone, asshole!” Rainbow Dash charged forward, summoning her Persona at the same time, who flew ahead of her with her blade out, slashing him wildly with her gun sword. Pinkie Pie meanwhile, managed to finally cast Tarukaja on Trixie, who was in the process of helping Starlight up.

“I’m going to try and get those shackles off of Rarity,” Starlight said, “Can you guys hold him off?”

Trixie nodded, “Yeah. We can do that.”

Starlight kissed Trixie deeply, and then ran over to help Rarity while her friends dealt with Shadow Blueblood. Damn it. Looking at these, it seemed like they were reinforced.

“Don’t bother,” Rarity said turning away, “Even if I get them off, I always end up back in them eventually.”

“That was before we were here,” Starlight said, summoning Morgana to try and use her claws to fiddle with the lock, “You’re not alone anymore in this.”

Rarity’s eyes narrowed at Starlight, “I didn’t ask you to come to my rescue.”

“Didn’t have to,” Starlight smiled at Rarity, “I wanted to come to your rescue on my own.”

Rarity held her arms up shying away a bit, but still gritting her teeth at Starlight a bit. It was so odd. Even in such a vulnerable state, she seemed to be trying to look ferocious.

“It’s okay Rarity,” Starlight said softly, “You can trust me.”

“Can I?” Rarity asked lowly, “My whole life is a prison. You’re just gonna throw me in another cell too, right?”

“What?” Starlight asked wide eyed, “No! That’s not the intention at all! I’m here to-”

“I’ve been here before, and I ain’t fallin’ for it again!” she shouted, tearing up, “So you can take your “help”, and shove it up your ass, because I don’t want it!”

Starlight blinked, but carefully made a show of going back to the shackles to hold her leg, opening herself up. Immediately, she felt nothing but the most visceral, intense fear she’d ever felt.

She’s not here to help me! She’s just like everything else here! She’s just going to imprison me again! This place…! I’ll never escape it…!

Starlight’s eyes widened. She did think like a dog. She wasn’t mean, violent, or any of that. Not naturally at least. She was just, terrified, and this was the only way she knew how to present it. She literally didn't know how to just ask for help.

The sound of Pinkie Pie crying out in pain caught her attention. Starlight looked to see Shadow Blueblood had knocked her down, but thankfully Trixie and Rainbow Dash had held their own.

Still, she needed to return to their side to help them.

Starlight looked back at Rarity, who still looked like a scared puppy almost. Not wanting to alarm her, Starlight reached out to caress her cheek. Naturally she did recoil back briefly, whimpering softly, but soon relaxed a bit as Starlight just rubbed her cheek.

“I’m going to make Blueblood go away from here,” Starlight said softly, “So at the very least, you won’t have to deal with him anymore. Alright?”

Rarity looked at Starlight tearfully, but nodded without a word. Somehow, she was able to get through to her.

Starlight got up and turned to the fight, “Twilight, do we know his weakness?”

“Afraid not!” Twilight replied, “I can’t analyze him! We’ve tried fire and electricity so far, and he’s tanked all of those!”

“Then we’ll just hit him with everything else,” Starlight said in a low, dangerous tone, “Trixie, increase my speed! Pinkie Pie, increase my attack! Dash, keep him pinned down!”

All three of them nodded, summoning their Personas. Trixie cast Sukukaja on her, with Pinkie Pie casting Tarukaja at the same time. Meanwhile, Dash used her Persona to directly engage Shadow Blueblood, locking her blade with his horns.

“KOPPA TENGU!!!” she shouted, walking forward and casting a wind spell, pushing the raging bull of a Shadow back a bit but otherwise not doing much.

“You!” he seethed, punching Eclair and Rainbow Dash back, “Think you’re hot stuff, huh?!” he threw his football at Starlight, who quickly summoned Morgana and slashed it away, charging up a spell. Morgana shot a block of ice at him next, but he once again just fell back a bit, not taking much damage it seemed.

Trixie looked up at him, and then back at Rarity,” Not again…! You’re not getting away with hurting her, like you did with me!” she shot to her feet and summoned her Persona, “EIHA!!!” Elenora held her arms out, and then brought them above her head, creating a black javalin made of dark energy. She then threw it at Shadow Blueblood, making him cry out in pain and fall to one knee, “There! Starlight, let’s end this with an All Out Attack!”

Starlight nodded, giving everyone the command. They unleashed their multi sided assault onto the Shadow, knocking him to the ground.

“Damn, it…!” he seethed, “Just as, powerless here, as I am, in the real world…” and with that, he faded in a black mist.

Daydream - Blue Reflection: Second Light

Trixie fell to her knees as Pinkie Pie ran over to her, “That’s, one nightmare over.”

Pinkie Pie smiled and hugged Trixie, “Yep. You did great.”

At the same time, the shackles around Rarity’s wrists and ankles vanished. She looked down at her hands in shock, her eyes slowly filling with a glimmer of hope.

Starlight walked over to Rarity and held her hand out to her, “It’s okay now, Rarity. You’re safe with us.”

Rarity looked up at Starlight cautiously, and then at everyone else gathered around her, “What is this…?”

“The moment where this Nightmare begins to turn around,” Rainbow Dash grinned.

“We’re witches,” Pinkie Pie smiled, “We’re here to bring light to your darkness.”

“Sorry we took so long to get here,” Trixie said gently, “It was a bitch finding this prison, but we’re going to put an end to this now.”

“Will you trust us?” Starlight asked Rarity, keeping her smile gentle and her stance neutral. Anything to make sure she didn’t seem like a threat. Now she understood. They were so afraid of her, when in reality, she was afraid of them the whole time.

Rarity hesitated, but her hand slowly reached for Starlight’s. It worked. Maybe if they could get Rarity to a safe place before she woke up, they could keep her safe while they searched the Nightmare for-

end song

“EVERYONE! TAKE COVER!”

As soon as Twilight screamed, they were all assaulted by gunfire from up above, forcing all of them to scatter. Starlight grabbed Rarity’s hand and ran off to get cover, pushing her behind her as she looked up to see what was firing at them.

Border of Insanity - Persona 4

It was a black helicopter with the school insignia on it, piloted by two Shadows in security uniforms. The helicopter had twin machine guns mounted on it, both of which were now pointed at Starlight.

“Stand aside, witch! The prisoner is coming with us!” one of the Shadows commanded. Starlight’s response was to hold her hands out in front of Rarity protectively, “If that’s how you want to play this, then fine!”

Right before the helicopter could fire, a bolt of electricity knocked it away a bit, “We’re covering you, Leader!” Rainbow Dash said. Starlight nodded, and went to lead Rarity someplace save, but was knocked to the ground suddenly by a fist colliding with her face.

“STARLIGHT!!!” everyone cried at once. Starlight looked up, and saw the oddest sight.

It was Applejack! She was wearing a blue and black suit and tie ensemble with a tight blue skirt, black leggings, blue high heels, a blue stetson to match her uniform, and a very important looking badge on her left breast.

“Hang on, what?!” Trixie cried.

“Why’s my cousin here?!” Pinkie Pie asked, “That’s not her Shadow, is it?!”

“No! I can confirm, that’s not a Shadow!” Twilight said, “It’s like the dancers in Diamond Tiara’s nightmare! It’s a mental apparition of Applejack, created from Rarity's unconscious mind!”

“You’ve been a naughty girl,” Applejack seethed, gripping a rope tightly as she walked over to Rarity.

“No…! Applejack, I’m sorry, I-” she screamed as Applejack struck her, knocking her to the ground.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Rainbow Dash rushed forward drawing her blade again, “Eclair, teach that No Fun Lookalike a thing or-” she was cut off by the helicopter’s guns firing at her feet, keeping her and all of them from interfering. They could only watch as Applejack grabbed Rarity and roughly began tying her up, the purple haired teen struggling and screaming the entire time.

“NO!!! APPLEJACK STOP THIS, PLEASE!!!” she screamed.

“You know the rules, Rarity,” Applejack said darkly, “Only the Warden gets to decide when an’ how ya get playtime. Playin’ with Blueblood like that was against the rules, so ya need to be punished.” she looked up at the helicopter and waved to it. In response, one of the Shadows inside dropped a rope ladder for her, to which Applejack grabbed hold of it, carrying Rarity with her.

“NO!” Starlight ran after the helicopter, but was knocked back by its gunfire, falling into Trixie’s arms as she caught her, “Damn it! RARITY!!!”

Rarity squirmed and pulled at the rope binding her, looking back at Starlight desperately as she was flown to the tower, now out of reach.

“Girls, a Checkpoint just opened nearby!” Twilight said, “I say we take it and escape!”

“We can’t just leave!” Rainbow Dash protested, “Rarity’s up there probably having the hope beaten outta her! We gotta get in there and-”

“There wouldn’t be enough time to track her down!” Twilight argued, “We know where she is for now, and I can try and monitor her movements, but we need to be smart about this!”

“Twi Twi’s right,” Trixie agreed, “Let’s head back to the Akashic Records through the Checkpoint.”

Starlight didn’t move right away, instead glaring at the tower, “I’ll save you Rarity. I promise!”

She then ran after her friends into the Checkpoint, returning to the Akashic Records to rest and regroup. This Dungeon, was going to be the toughest one to take down yet.

The deadline to rescue Rarity is November 9th. Manage your time carefully and ensure that the Prisoner is saved from her Dungeon before she gives up hope completely.

Fool – Seekers of Light: 5/10
Magician – Trixie Lulamoon: 8/10
Priestess – Diamond Tiara: 10/10 Thrall
The Empress – Ms. Tia: 4/10
Hierophant - Victor: 1/10
The Lovers - Pinkamena Diane Pie: 2/10
Chariot – Rainbow Dash: 3/10
Strength - Tokugawa Fluttershy: 1/5
Hermit – Sunburst: 2/10
The Devil – Silver Spoon: 4/10
The Sun - Sweetie Belle: 2/10 LEVEL UP!!!!!
Transformation - Ms. Luna: 1/10

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