Persona 6: REM
Chapter 6: 9/6
Previous Chapter Next ChapterSeptember 6th, 2019
Thursday
Cloudy
Morning
Breakfast was as eventful as ever, Celestia once again going all out. This time she focused mostly on pancakes, which seemed to be the thing she enjoyed making the most. Starlight was a bit concerned when she didn’t see Beatrix, since as far as she knew she was still in the dorm. Maybe she was just taking a bit of extra time in the shower or something.
About a minute or so after everyone started eating, Beatrix opened the door to the dining room and stepped in.
“Glad you joined us,” Celestia said with a gentle smile. Everyone turned to Beatrix, Starlight a bit surprised by how much more relaxed she seemed. She said nothing, just smiled softly to everyone, and sat down at the last place anyone expected.
Right next to Starlight.
Pinkie Pie was visibly relieved, and Rainbow Dash just looked extremely surprised. Celestia on the other hand, gave both of them a slightly enigmatic smile that only Starlight understood the meaning behind. This was because of what she did for Beatrix in her dream.
As they continued to converse over breakfast, Starlight noticed Beatrix kept stealing glances at Starlight, but would quickly look away whenever Starlight noticed her staring. Starlight wondered what was going on in that head of hers. Whatever it was, she knew that Blueblood was not going to be happy either way.
Oh well, she’d deal with that when the time came.
Daytime
Most of the day was spent being on the lookout for Blueblood and making sure that Beatrix was safe. Just like yesterday, she seemed to cling to Starlight for protection, so much that she’d wait for Starlight to leave before she left, and even held onto her arm as they walked.
“You… don’t mind me being so close, do you?” Beatrix asked while they were on their way to Math Class. Honestly, Starlight not only didn’t mind, but she found herself enjoying the closeness. She didn’t understand it, but she kind of felt like this was how they were supposed to be, like maybe in another life they were already best friends, and this was more them remembering their past friendship.
Well, Starlight believed in reincarnation, so maybe.
“Not in the slightest,” Starlight said smiling. Beatrix visibly relaxed, and Starlight saw a tiny glimpse of the more exuberant Beatrix. Seeing that made Starlight’s heart skip a beat for some reason.
She never did feel anything for boys her age. Was this why?
Blueblood just so happened to walk down the stairs as they entered their Math class. Starlight met eyes with him, and based on his expression, he was not happy to see them still arm in arm. Starlight quickly escorted Beatrix into the classroom before she could notice him, and narrowed her eyes at him smirking before walking in herself.
He wasn’t going to hurt Beatrix anymore. Not if Starlight had anything to say about it.
Starlight wasn’t the best at Math, but she did finish all of the homework from yesterday. That was good, because the teacher called on her to answer a question, which she answered correctly. She felt a bit smarter knowing that she got that question right.
Lunch Time
Starlight told Beatrix to wait for her in the courtyard while she went to get the next few books she’d need for class. When she closed her locker though, she got the shock of a lifetime.
“You think you’re real cute, don’t you?” Blueblood seethed. Starlight was honestly not expecting this confrontation, but if it was going to happen at any point, it might as well have been now, right?
“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about,” Starlight said, “My friends are waiting for me.”
Blueblood placed his hand on the locker next to Starlight, blocking her path, and then stood in front of her preventing her escape.
“I see what you’re doing, you know,” Blueblood said, “It’s not going to work, you know. Beatrix is mine.”
“Beatrix doesn’t belong to anyone,” Starlight shot back, “She’s her own person, something you seem to have forgotten.”
“Oh? Are you implying something?”
“I know the truth about your relationship with Beatrix, and I’m not amused.”
Blueblood narrowed his eyes dangerously, “And what did she tell you about our relationship?”
“She didn’t have to tell me anything. I pieced it together when I saw her in tears one too many times.”
Blueblood nodded, “I see. So you’re thinking you’ll be her knight in shining armor or something? You realize that others have tried to stand in between my relationship with her. They never stick around though. One way or another, they always run away.”
“So you admit that you’re rough with her,” Starlight narrowed her eyes. Blueblood laughed arrogantly, just like he did in Beatrix’s dream.
“It’s not like you can do anything. Go on, tell on me. My father’s on the school board, and I’m captain of the football team here. Who do you think they’re going to believe more? The star and hero of the school,” he lightly moved a strand of Starlight's hair, “or some suicidal goth chick.”
Starlight moved his hand away from her glaring hatefully at him. It aggravated her, but he was sadly right. She already had a bit of a reputation in the school for being unbalanced, and while the students were nice to her, the teachers and faculty did give her looks at times. If he was a big deal in the school, it would be his word against hers.
Damn it. He’d just admitted to abusing Beatrix, and there was nothing Starlight could do about it.
“Now, I’m feeling generous, and I honestly like you a lot,” Blueblood sneered, “So you have two choices. One, go over to Beatrix and tell her that you can’t be her friend anymore, or two, you come with me someplace private and do me a favor.”
He had to be kidding?! Did he really think that was going to work?!
“What if I refuse both options?” Starlight asked defiantly, feeling her courage shoot to be more outpoken.
“Well, I guess then I’d have to stop being so generous, and take what I want,” Blueblood’s hand was getting dangerously close to Starlight’s breast. Shoot! If she didn’t do something now, he was going to-
“AHEM!” someone cleared their throat loudly. Both Starlight and Blueblood turned to see who the new comer was. Starlight was taken aback by their appearance, but Blueblood paled when he saw the student.
Obviously a senior, this student had super long and wavy purple hair, sharp blue eyes, and a perfect hourglass figure that put Starlight’s to shame. She wore a white suit shirt, black necktie, purple and white blazer that was fastened with golden buttons, short purple skirt, black leggings, and purple high heels. She wore blue eye shadow, purple lipstick, her long nails were colored with purple nail polish, and had the air of someone you did not want to mess with. Like for as calm as she was, she'd get violent at the drop of a hat.
“I hope I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing,” the student asked, her voice high, cultured, and incredibly graceful. Also familiar to Starlight.
“Um, I was just getting to know the new student,” Blueblood covered, “N-no need to worry, Ms. President.”
President?! This was Rarity, the student body president?! Holy shit!
“I’d hope not,” Rarity said, slowly walking over to them, her walk as graceful as the rest of her, “I would hate to see what would happen if your father were to hear of you being rough with an underclassman. You’re looking at a football scholarship, aren’t you?”
“I am,” Blueblood said, backing away from Rarity, who now stood right in front of him. Holy hell this girl had a powerful aura.
“Then I assume I don’t need to tell you how quickly I can take that away from you, with just the snap,” she snapped her finger for emphasis, “of a finger. I don’t, do I?”
“N-not at all, Ms. President,” Blueblood stammered, the color completely drained from his face.
“Then why don’t you get on to your next class, and let Ms. Glimmer here get to hers,” Rarity said, narrowing her eyes dangerously, “And no, that wasn’t a request.”
“R-right,” Blueblood said, walking away from both of them as quickly as possible. Starlight was floored by what she just saw. She didn’t raise her voice, use profanity, or even threaten him in any way. Yet she sent him packing.
This girl was on a whole different level.
“Are you alright, Ms. Glimmer?” Rarity asked turning to Starlight, who just nodded wordlessly, “I apologize for his behavior. Trust me, you’re not the only girl in this class he’s made uncomfortable.”
“It’s fine,” Starlight said, “I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me.”
“Oh? Well, that makes you a rare breed indeed,” Rarity said with a slight smirk.
“But… thank you for stepping in like you did, Ms. President,” Starlight said, almost feeling like she needed to avert her gaze.
“Please, call me Rarity,” Rarity insisted, “If he causes you any trouble, you let me know, alright Ms. Glimmer? Salute~” she then turned on her heels and sauntered off. Starlight’s heart was racing for some reason. Like she was seeing a queen walk away. She was definitely an alpha woman.
“Um, Starlight!” Starlight called after her, “Please, just call me Starlight!” Rarity gave her a slight wave in response, not once turning back around. Yeah, now she could see why the rest of the students went crazy over her. After that display, she was easily a fan of hers now.
She wondered if they’d ever be friends? Probably not, honestly. One, she was an upperclassman, and two, she was the Student Body President. She was unattainable in every sense of the word. Shaking that off, she decided to continue onward to the courtyard, where Beatrix was waiting for her. Now she had to be extra protective of her roommate.
end song
After School
The rest of the school went off without incident. Starlight didn’t think it was fair to not tell Beatrix what happened at her locker, but assured her that it changed nothing. She was not going to let him intimidate her, or strong arm her away from Beatrix. It seemed she appreciated that. Starlight wondered how many potential friends Beatrix lost in that exact same way.
RIIIIIING
“I suppose that’s the end,” Celestia said with a smile, “Be sure to read up to chapter 3 of your textbooks, and take notes. We’ll be discussing the chapter tomorrow.”
As all of the students filed out of the classroom, Beatrix turned to Starlight visibly nervous.
“Starlight, I don’t like Blueblood going after you like that,” Beatrix said, “Maybe I should-”
“No,” Starlight said immediately, “He doesn’t have the right to tell you who you can and can’t be friends with.”
“I… I know, but-”
“Beatrix,” Blueblood called out, standing by the door of the classroom, “You and I need to talk.”
Beatrix’s eyes widened, and she paled when she saw him narrow his eyes at her. Starlight turned to Celestia, who subtly nodded.
“Beatrix, didn’t Ms. Tia want us to work together on that assignment?” Starlight asked suddenly. Beatrix turned to Starlight surprised, but quickly caught on.
“Yeah, she did,” Beatrix covered, “Sorry, but we’ll have to talk some other time.”
The way Blueblood’s eyes suddenly widened showed he was NOT pleased to hear that, and he might have made a scene, had Celestia not stepped in front of him.
“Well, that’s just how it is, isn’t it Blueblood,” Celestia said jovially, “Beatrix, thank you for helping Starlight.”
“Y-you’re welcome,” Beatrix said, clearly confused by this. Starlight took Beatrix’s hand and guided her out of the classroom before Blueblood could say or do anything to frighten Beatrix anymore than she already was.
Starlight took Beatrix to a Sugar Cube Corner, where they naturally pulled out their books to look like they were working, just in case Blueblood tried to follow them.
“Thank you,” Beatrix said softly, “Um, does Ms. Tia…?”
“If she does, it’s not because of me,” Starlight said, “She seems like one of those people who always knows more than you’d think, though.”
Beatrix visibly relaxed at Starlight’s words, “She really is that kind of person. A lot like a mother,” Beatrix looked away sadly, “Wish I had a good relationship with my mother.”
“You and your mother don’t get along?” Starlight asked, saddened when Beatrix shook her head.
“She’s the reason I’m here in boarding school. Mostly it’s to get away from her. After my father…” she cut herself off and shook her head, “What about you? You don’t really talk about yourself too much.”
Starlight really wondered about what she was going to say about her father, but she shook it off.
“Well, what do you want to know?” Starlight asked as their order of fries came.
“I… know this might be personal, but what happened that made you… you know?”
Oh. She wanted to know about that. Starlight averted her eyes, unsure how she felt talking about that again.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me,” Beatrix covered, “I was just curious about you. You’re kind of an enigma in school.”
“No, it’s fine,” Starlight said, deciding to open to Beatrix a bit, “It happened after my Mother died. She and I had a really big fight, and I ran out of the house. She went looking for me, and apparently got in a terrible accident on the way. She didn’t survive it," she tightened her fists on her lap looking down somberly, "I was so devastated, I blamed myself for her death. Also, not only did my relatives not step in to help me, but our house was sold to the state, so I had nothing. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had my Mom's anti-depressants. You can piece together what happened after that I'm sure...”
“Oh my God…” Beatrix breathed out, “I’m so sorry. Can I ask what the fight was about?”
“Differences in faith,” Starlight said simply, “She was a full on Christian, and I’m closer to Wiccan.”
“So, the gothic look you have is because you’re an actual witch?” Beatrix asked, turning away from Starlight with a somber expression, “Wow. We really are similar.”
Starlight tilted her head, and asked Beatrix what she meant by that.
“The reason my Mom and I don’t get along is because of something similar,” Beatrix took a fry before she continued speaking, “In my case though, it’s more so because of who I wanted to be when I grew up. She wants me to be a nurse like her, but that’s not what I want to be.”
“What do you want to be?” Starlight asked. She noticed that Beatrix seemed really hesitant to speak on it, as she looked down in a way that covered her eyes with her bangs.
“I wanted to be a performer, just like my Dad,” Beatrix said somberly, “I really looked up to him, and wanted to be just like him. But then he… he left us… Mom hated him ever since.”
Starlight was really curious about how he left them. Was it from death, or something else?
“When she enrolled me here, I was more than happy,” Beatrix continued, “I don’t want to hear anyone badmouth my Dad, and I think deep down, I still…” she tightened the fist on the table, “But it’s hard when you don’t have any talent.”
“I don’t believe that at all,” Starlight said, placing her hand on Beatrix’s “I bet you have a lot more talent than even you realize.”
Beatrix looked touched, but she shook her head, “I appreciate it Starlight, but it’s fine. I already know I don’t have my father’s gift. No one in the world was quite like him,” she looked out the window, a wistful smile on her face, “My father, was magnificent.”
Starlight chose to leave it at that for now. It was clear there was something about her father she didn’t want to face, or rather something about herself and why she looked up to him so much that she didn’t want to face. Hopefully Twilight would find out something that could lead them to the truth. She had her suspicions, but she wanted to make sure before she spoke up on it.
So for now, Starlight decided to just enjoy spending time with Beatrix. Turned out the two of them had a lot of common interests. She’d have to make sure Beatrix survived, if for no other reason than to explore this friendship.
end song
Late Night
Starlight wanted to try and stay up a little bit just in case Twilight figured out the significance of the name “Balazar”. As such, she decided to stay up with Celestia for a while and talk to her about what happened today. As to not disturb Twilight, Starlight and Celestia sat in the dining room.
“Thank you for telling me this,” Celestia said sipping her tea, a dark scowl marring her perfect features, “Sadly he is right though. His father is head of the school board, so if he complained to him about you lying, they’d sadly be more inclined to believe him than you.”
“So what does that mean for Beatrix?” Starlight asked before sipping some of her tea.
“She’d have to be the one to speak up on it herself,” Celestia said, setting her cup down and folding her arms underneath her bosom, “She can provide much more evidence than you. Mind you, with her taking so long to speak up over it, she’d still have a difficult time with it, but there would at the very least be an investigation.”
Starlight looked down at her tea cup with a dark scowl herself. She almost wished she could go into his mind and make him confess himself. She remembered that the Phantom Thieves had done something like that, so maybe her Persona could do something similar. Only thing was she didn’t have the app they used to enter the Metaverse, and she promised her Mother that she’d only use her magic to heal, not harm.
Even if Blueblood deserved it.
“In other news,” Celestia’s smile returned, “What did you think of the Student Body President?”
Oh right! It wasn’t all bad, since she did meet Ms. President.
“She was something else,” Starlight smiled looking up, “She was so poised, not once losing her temper.”
“Rarity truly is something else, isn’t she?” Celestia finished her tea and poured herself another cup, “She was already going to this school when I arrived, but I did at least see the election. She won by a landslide.”
“I imagine her opponent wasn’t all too pleased,” Starlight said, getting more tea herself.
“Oh no, she wasn’t. Still, Rarity has the school’s full support, at least when it comes to the students.”
“What about the teachers?”
“She’s a lot like me in that sense. Adored by the students, but not very well liked by the staff. Like me, she also sort of came out of nowhere, and immediately started clinging to the head of the Defense Committee, Applejack. They’re very good friends, despite one being loved by the student body, and the other one being rather disliked.”
Starlight was really wondering what sort of person Applejack was now. She had to be pretty strict in order to earn herself the name “No Fun Jackie”. But she was friends with Rarity, who seemed pretty nice from what Starlight witnessed.
The dining room door opened, and Twilight stepped in holding a folder, a big smile on her face, “I figured it out!”
“That didn’t take very long,” Celestia said before her expression got a bit more stern, “You didn’t stay up all day working, did you?”
“Not… all day,” Twilight blushed, twirling her finger around her hair, “Okay, so I might have gone to bed a bit later than usual, and woke up a bit earlier, but I couldn’t help myself. This was the most progress we’ve made, and what I learned about Beatrix was pretty fascinating.”
Celestia sighed in defeat, “Very well. Please, join us and tell us what you found out.”
Twilight sat down as Starlight poured her a cup of tea, which she gladly took.
“Okay, so it did take a while to decipher the meaning behind the word “Balazar”. I figured it was the name of the man in the picture. First off, I need to confirm something,” she pulled out her phone and showed Starlight a picture, “Is this the man you saw on the poster?”
Starlight looked at the picture, which showed a still image of a man with a brilliant smile, spreading his arms out to what was probably an audience. He was wearing the same blue tuxedo and black magician’s hat as the man on the poster, but now she could see his eyes. They were purple, just like Beatrix’s. Come to think of it, Beatrix kind of favored him.
“That’s the man,” Starlight said, “I’m sure of it.”
“Thought so,” Twilight said taking back her phone, “That man is the Magnificent Balazar, known as the greatest magician of all time. The tricks he performed were impossible, and many people tried to prove how he did them, but to know avail,” she began typing on her phone again, “I found one trick here that really showed how… there! Found it. Take a look at this. Even I’m finding it hard to explain this.”
Starlight and Celestia both leaned in close to view the phone, which showed a section of his magic show. He was presenting a large fan to the audience, probably to show everyone that it was real. He then placed the fan in the middle of the stage and walked off to one end of it, taking off his hat and jacket. He then got on one knee in front of the fan, like he were preparing to run, and then ran into the fan, except a deck of cards shot out from the other side.
Starlight was wide eyed, and even Celestia seemed confused by what she witnessed.
“Trust me, that’s not even the craziest part,” Twilight said, “Keep watching.”
The cameraman was looking around frantically, and the entire crowd was gasping in shock, asking where he went, or if he died. Suddenly someone started clapping really loudly, and both the cameraman and the spot light shot to the audience, revealing Balazar sitting in the back clapping for his trick, as if he were always there.
“I… have seen many things in my time, but to see someone pull off a trick like that in the real world…” Celestia said, placing a hand on her chest.
“He reminds me of a wizard,” Starlight said.
“That’s what a lot of people said honestly,” Twilight pocketed her phone, “I looked up the reports on him, and it turns out that he was often accused of using dark magic. Some even accused him of being the devil himself.”
“People fear that which they don’t understand,” Celestia said sipping her tea.
Starlight remembered him now. In fact, she remembered that he was her inspiration to become a witch herself. She heard the reports of a man claiming to be the devil, and she saw one of his magic shows live and was mesmerized by it, so much that she believed in magic for the rest of her life. That was years ago though, and she never knew what happened to him. One day he just… wasn’t there anymore.
Starlight shared this with Twilight and Celestia, Twilight nodding.
“I’m not surprised. He was always talking about how magic was real, and how his goals were to prove just how real it was to the world. That didn’t get him many allies, however, and during his final show, he did one last magic trick. One where he disappeared, but never reappeared. The authorities had charged onto the stage to try and capture him, but they weren’t able to find him. They’re still searching for clues as to where he is and how he did that.”
“One final show to prove the validity of his power,” Celestia said, “Effectively transporting into a different dimension, or just disappearing.”
“He left a note, claiming that he left a gift for someone special to him in the place where magic got it’s start,” Twilight continued, “No one knew what he meant by that, or who he was talking about, but many people believed he was talking about his at the time seven year old daughter.”
“Lulamoon…” Starlight said softly, catching both Twilight and Celestia’s attention.
“You figured it out, didn’t you?” Twilight asked. Starlight nodded to Twilight, and explained to both of them that when she saw Beatrix’s last name she thought she’d seen it somewhere before, but couldn’t remember where that was.
“Twilight, was is Balazar’s last name?” Celestia asked slowly.
end song
“His full name is Balazar Lulamoon,” Twilight answered immediately, “Beatrix’s father.”
Mentally, Starlight went back to her conversation with Beatrix back in Sugar Cube Corner. She even said it then, her father was “magnificent”. She was trying to tell Starlight right there who her father actually was!
“And now we get to what I found in Beatrix’s Akashic Records,” Twilight said, opening the folder she carried with her, and reading from the piece of paper. As she spoke, for some reason all Starlight could hear was Beatrix’s voice.
The sins of the father will always carry back to the child. This was something that my Mom always told me, which was why she forbade me to learn ANYTHING pertaining to magic. I didn’t believe it though. Dad wasn’t a bad man. He wasn’t evil, or the devil. He was a wizard. A real live wizard. Possibly the last real wizard in the whole world.
I’d show her. I’d show all of them, by becoming a magician just like him!
In his last show, he looked at me and winked. It was the same way he always did before his biggest tricks. It was his way of letting me know he was going to be alright. But when he disappeared, this time he didn’t come back. Everyone was frantic, the police were on the stage, Mom was in tears, but I knew. I knew he was still alive. Somewhere out there, he was searching for me. Waiting for me. He even gave me a clue.
The place where magic got it’s start. But where was that?
My mother was devastated. She didn’t understand why he vanished. She accused him of abandoning us. She hated magic, and didn’t want anything to do with it. She started pushing me to become a nurse like her, saying that she didn’t want me to become a magician. I didn’t want to be a nurse though! I knew what I wanted! I wanted to know the secret! I wanted to understand the magic that he used!
But I didn’t have the gift he did. The tricks I performed for my peers were just slight of hand at best.
My peers all expected me to carry on his legacy. They wanted me to be the next wizard. But… I can’t do it… No matter how much I try… I could never do the tricks that he wanted…
The dreams… in them I have an audience. They’re laughing at me, booing at my attempts at wowing the crowd. By myself… I’m worthless… I can’t do anything without someone else guiding me.
My story… is over…
end song
Celestia actually looked aghast hearing that, especially that last part. Starlight didn’t know how to process that herself. Those were her Akashic Records! The path that her life was supposed to follow! The record of every decision she made in her life, every decision she could make in her present moment, and the outcome of each and every one! One’s Akashic Record didn’t just end!
“This… this is terrible…” Celestia looked down, eyes wide in horror, “Please tell me that’s not the final entry.”
Twilight closed her eyes and gave a grave sigh, “I’m afraid it is. I used this book as a base to search the rest of her record, just to see if there was another entry past it, but I couldn’t find anything after that last line. This is the moment where her Akashic Records ends. I’m willing to bet that’s also when she contracted the Nightmare Epidemic.”
“How do we fix this?” Starlight asked immediately, not even trying to hold in her tears.
“That… I don’t know,” Twilight finished her tea and sat back in her chair, “This is someone who’s completely given up on everything in the world. Her hopes, her dreams, even the possibility that dreams even can come true.”
Starlight turned to Celestia, begging her to think of something, anything. Sadly, Celestia shook her head gravely.
“I… don’t know what to do in this situation. Normally there’s another option in the Akashic Records. An alternative that will keep the story going. But this… this is saying that her destined path is to die at the hands of the Shadows…”
Starlight couldn’t accept that. She wouldn’t accept that! She had thrown her life away, and yet here she was, still alive! If that was the case for her, then surely the same was true for-
Suddenly it hit her. She knew what to do for Beatrix. The exact same thing Igor did for her. She just needed to know that her father wasn’t drawing from dark powers, and that the power was inside of her the entire time.
She needed to know that magic was real.
“Can she last one more night?” Starlight asked Twilight.
“I think so,” Twilight said, “Why?”
“I have a plan, but I need both of you to trust me,” Starlight rose up from her chair, “When I do this, we’ll have one shot to rescue Beatrix, so it has to happen tomorrow. But if I’m right, then I’ll be able to save her tomorrow.”
“What are you planning?” Twilight asked, narrowing her eyes at Starlight. She took a deep breath, and revealed the risky plan she had.
“I’m going to tell Beatrix the truth,” Starlight said, “That she really is seeing me in her dreams.”
“Whoa whoa WHOA! Are you crazy?!” Twilight shot up from her chair, “If you do that, there’s no telling what that could do to her psyche! She already suspects that she’s suffering the Nightmare Epidemic, but if she knows that she really is, and that her life path is actually ending-”
“If I can finish,” Starlight said glaring at Twilight, “I’ll also tell her that I’m getting her out of her dream tonight, and that the nightmares will end. That’s why I’ll only have one shot at this. My goal is to give her a burst of hope, something that she can cling to that will keep her alive.”
“But if you fail, she’ll die right then and there!” Twilight argued, “What if we can’t get her out this time?! Do you even know how to get her out?!”
“What if I take her out through a checkpoint?”
“Those only work for Persona Users, and she’s not a Persona User!”
“Then…” Starlight wracked her brain thinking of an alternative, “What about the main exit? Remember that white door I exited from the first few times? I was able to leave even before I had a Persona!”
Celestia looked down in deep thought considering her words.
“I mean, even if it’s gone out of control, it’s still Beatrix’s dream! If she’s not there to have the dream, then it should collapse! Right?”
Twilight took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes wearily, “I mean… it makes sense, but this is a huge risk. If this backfires, that’s it. She’s dead.”
“Then it won’t backfire,” Starlight said.
“Oh my God…” Twilight shook her head laughing in disbelief, “What makes you think you can even pull this off?”
“Because…” Starlight looked down for a second, and then tightened her fists and shot Twilight an assured glare, “Because I’m the Trickster!”
“So because you’re some Messiah you have the power to pull of miracles all of a sudden, is that it?” Twilight said dismissively, “You’re not Joker. You’re not like the other Tricksters in the past.”
“You’re right, I’m not. And I’m not trying to be anything like them,” Starlight said, “I’m not saying I can save the entire planet or anything. I’m just saying that I can save Beatrix. Please help me with this, Twilight. If this doesn’t work, you can hate me for the rest of your life, but please just give this a chance.”
Twilight looked at Starlight intently, reading her. Not once did Starlight avert her gaze from Twilight’s. It was almost like their hearts were arguing. After a few seconds, Twilight sighed.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” she shot Starlight another glare, “You get… one shot, Starlight. If you mess this up, I will never forgive you, got it?”
Starlight nodded, completely understanding. Honestly, if this didn’t work, she’d never forgive herself.
“The important thing now is that we have a plan,” Celestia said, rising up and standing beside them, placing her hands on both of their shoulders, “Let’s all get some rest, and prepare for tomorrow.”
“I better learn the layout of her Dungeon, that way I can guide you down the quickest path,” Twilight said, turning to leave.
“Twilight,” Starlight called out stopping her, “Thank you.”
Twilight sighed, and left the room, not saying anything else. Celestia turned Starlight around to face her and placed both hands on her shoulders.
“You really sounded like a Trickster just now,” Celestia said.
“You… think this will work?” Starlight asked.
“I do,” Celestia said honestly, pulling Starlight into a maternal embrace, “I’ll be right there with you, in spirit. So don’t hesitate. Charge forth, sure of your path.”
Starlight’s heart was racing hearing these words. She didn’t know why, but somehow those words seemed to resonate with her on a very deep level. She returned the embrace, letting Celestia’s maternal warmth relax her spirit.
She could do this. She had to do this.
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