Shadows of a Silent Pony

Tuesday March 3rd, 1002 RC(Reign of Celestia)

Weather: Sunny

Night

The night sky over Maretropolis was clear as always, giving just the right amount of lighting to allow the silhouette of Mac's Persona to loom over him. Perseus, as he said his name was, stood well over the simple farm pony. The stallion gathered himself as the Ink Stallions started slinking away into the shadows of the city's various alleyways. He shot the warrior before him a wary glance as he thought over his next move.

"We need to find the one you heard screaming." Whatever Perseus was, he was well aware of whatever Mac had planned. If it weren't for the helmet, Mac would've sworn he was smiling, "I am your Persona, Macintosh. I am a part of you. The Persona is a representation of the mind, the mask one uses to overcome life's hardships. The moment you swore in your heart to find your friend Spike, the contract needed for this power to awaken was made."

Mac flatly stared at him in frustration, holding up a hoof and rolling it in the air as a sign for his 'partner' or whatever to continue.

"Sorry. I haven't been summoned in eons. Pardon me for wanting to talk to my newest User a bit." The warrior slung his blade toward a straggling Ink Stallion, pinning the creature to the ground as it wailed out in a pained, unearthly plea of desperation. Perseus grabbed the sides of its skull with his bare hands, twisting its neck as fast and hard as he could manage. The body of the ink-based construct melted into nothingness as its cries were silenced.

Big MacIntosh shook his head as slowly closed his mouth, walking past the overzealous Persona. The creature walked without a sound to catch up, his feet not even needing to touch the ground. Mac caught out of the corner of his eye that Perseus was floating near him, his legs dangling as he moved beside his 'User' as he'd been called.

The earth pony started exploring the city, though each time he strayed from the path to what appeared to be a cosmetics factory, each alleyway would act as some sort of invisible wall, pushing him toward it once more. He tapped his hoof against it. It was solid. The magic sort of solid, like the shielding spells Princess Twilight had him help test. He shrugged it off as he continued toward the factory, guessing that something was intending for him to go there. Perhaps that something would have answers.

Perseus appeared to be looking over the thing that had called him into existence. "Pardon me, but perhaps, MacIntosh of the Apple Clan, you should steel yourself with a real weapon before going into the lion's den?" He clanged his own sword against his shield in some form of military gesture, his muscles flexing heavily as he did so.

Mac gave him another, tired stare as he walked over to one of the many mailboxes on the street. With the quick kick of a single hind hoof, the well trained apple farmer kicked the metal container over, bending its hind legs and ripping the front pair from the concrete below. He stared fairly hard at the Persona, giving a small grin afterward.

"You would have made a great soldier even among my men when I was alive!" Perseus laughed heartily at the display, quieting himself as he gave his User a solemn nod. "Whatever may lie beyond those doors, I will assist you."

The pair ran at the door of the factor. MacIntosh slammed himself against it to tear through the weak barrier of wood and concrete. Perseus followed behind, running past his recovering User and taking a defensive stance. The warrior relaxed as he took a moment to glance around.

"No one seems to be around." He stated to Mac, lending a hand down to help the pony up from the ground. "However, there seems to be a portal just beyond," he pointed to a large mirror across the factory floor from them, "there."

Big MacIntosh stood tall as he shrugged off the mild pain in his shoulder, walking, though at a slightly slower pace, toward the mirror. He raised an eyebrow toward Perseus, the Persona shrugging in kind. Deciding he'd had enough pussyfooting about magical objects, he ran through the mirror, landing on the other side of it in what appeared to be a dungeon of some kind?

Bound Castle, Basement 1

He took a moment to investigate the immediate area. He still looked the same, and Perseus had followed, but the moment he pressed a hoof against the mirror, it shattered like every mirror he'd touched in the real world. 'Real world'. It dawned upon the pony as he thought it over.

"Yes, MacIntosh. This world is a magical construct, but it does not make it any less real for the one inside it. That is the fate of those who are attacked by Shadows. The ones you've dubbed 'Ink Stallions' are the most basic form of them. Shadows are a representation of the opposite of a Persona. They are the darkness and toxic feelings in the hearts of people. Or in this case, ponies." Perseus continued talking, though in a far more serious tone than before.

"When a Shadow attacks a person- or pony- the intent is to kill. Shadows attack the mind. They create a place that fatigues individuals who have no power. Once the victims are disoriented and begin to panic, the Shadows swarm." As the Persona explained, several Ink Stallions, this time dressed in crude armor started appearing at the edges of Mac's vision.

"And finally, when there are enough to keep the target safe, and to kill the target." The two stood back to back as they were slowly surrounded by these Armored Ink Stallions.

"And?" Mac inquired firmly, glancing back to Perseus, who had trailed off. He didn't know how, but there was a smile under that helmet for sure.

The warrior banged the flat of his sword against his shield in pride again as he awaited the fray, "The swarm is still small, and we are strong."

The two grew dead silent as the clattering of armor and the unearthly wails of the Shadows grew louder. Both dashed from one another as the beasts were upon them. Mac threw himself into the nearest group, tackling several to the ground. He reared up to buck several as they grew close, trying his best to avoid the blades the Shadows now boasted.

He kicked the blade from one of the Shadow's mouths, cracking its mask in the process. The sword remained, wedged into the cobblestones of the floor. Mac pulled the sword from the ground, which if he remembered right from the Royal Guard literature he was given, was called a 'gladius'. No matter what it was called, he held it between his teeth firmly, trying not to think about the taste of ink on his tongue.

Something felt right about holding it, Mac mused. It was simple, but functional. He grinned, running toward the stairs that he presumed led out of the dungeon. With a whip of his head, he easily sliced through several of the Shadows. Before he could reach the door, he stood stock-still, his mind slowed down to nothing.

Before his eyes, the workhorse saw a thousand cards, flipped on their backs, save for a hoofful. The ones he could see held several different images. A singular cup. A sword. A bit. A gnarled branch. Three in particular were a goo monster, a presumably female version of Perseus with wings, and another female biped holding a veil, dressed in white. The moment his hoof reached out, the cards that caught his attention were caught in a whirlwind. He grabbed at the nearest one with his hoof, pressing it to the ground.

A single name came to mind as he stood at the top of the stairs. "Apsaras." He called out as he stomped his hoof onto the ground.

The blue flames that erupted from them previously wreathed Perseus, rapidly revealing a new form. Mac glanced over his shoulder as this transformation took place. A serene female stood behind him, her skin a deep blue, and her body lithe. Her torso was wrapped in a silk leotard, with many sheer veils wrapped around her arms and waist. Her arms held several bangles, and a circlet kept her hair in place. She appeared to be a dancer of some sort, possibly a priestess of some foreign religion.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. My name is Apsaras." The creature spoke in a calm, almost emotionless voice, whose words flowed like a gentle stream into the stallion's ears. "I have arisen from your sea of soul. You may summon me when you are in need, fair son of the Apple Clan." While her legs were long and graceful, she did not touch the ground, floating in place as she spoke.

"Perseus." Mac called out as he turned around to face his Persona. He stomped his hoof on the ground, the brilliant blue flames changing the female back into the male he'd used. "Apsaras." He called again, changing his Persona once more.

He gave the quiet Persona a solemn nod, turning back to face the door. He reared up onto his hind legs, punching through the obstacle with his forehooves. Ignoring the Shadows around him, he ran down what seemed to be a very long castle hallway. He glanced at the walls, barely able to make out several different stained glass windows. Each one depicted various unicorns and their triumphs of magic. Or it could've been a really long how-to guide for unicorns. Mac frowned inwardly as he realized how ignorant he was of magical practices.

"Shut up!" He heard as he rounded a corner, a large pair of double doors before him.

"You will not mock the Great and Powerful Trixie with this foolish display!" The voice was the same third person speaking mare that had shown off before the town, and encased it inside a giant glass dome.

He pushed the doors open quickly, both of them slamming into the walls they were connected to. Before him, in what appeared to be a giant throne room, stood not one, but two Trixie's. One stood over the other, dressed in her typical magician's hat and cloak. Something was off. Her eyes shimmered gold, and some sort of ambient aura around her made the air surrounding her as black as pitch. The second Trixie seemed primarily normal, but bare of any clothing, and in tears.

The frightened one spoke up, "Shut up. I'm not like that!"

"Oh? Tell Trixie then: why do you travel around, trying to show your magical skill to others for any purpose other than to feel good about yourself? You are weak. You need the approval of others to feel good about yourself!" The odd Trixie jabbed a hoof accusingly at the other one, her sadistic smile growing by the moment.

"You need to be another Trixie, a stage Trixie, to function properly, if you can even call it that. You're so pathetic. The Great and Powerful Trixie is the only 'real' Trixie. After all, Lulamoon is such a boring name. It sounds so bland and dull. Nothing like how the words 'Great' and 'Powerful' sound. Then again, even thinking something like that makes you such an unbelievable egotist. In the end, if you aren't condescending and showing off to others, you aren't the real Trixie!" The dark Trixie continued lifted the other one's chin with her hoof, maliciously glaring down to her counterpart.

Apsaras approached Mac's side, leaning in close to speak into his ear quietly. "You may wish to intervene." It advised, awaiting his response.

The stallion nodded to his Persona, before charging at the two, "Git away from her!"

"You're wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! I'm nothing like that." As the normal, bare Trixie spoke, the other one grinned more and more. "You aren't me!"

The castle rumbled with a foreboding quake, the ground beneath Mac's hooves feeling more and more unstable. He looked up at the golden eyed Trixie as she began laughing.

The mare pulled her hat down to cover her eyes, "You're right. I'm not you. I'm me now." The shade around her coalesced, as if pitch black flesh were growing off of the mare. The giant chamber was soon filled with an enormous mare made of the dark matter. "I am a Shadow, the True Self!" the beast roared as it towered over the original Trixie, her height well exceeding many times the stage magician's.

ENCOUNTER

Magic Marionette

Mac observed the creature as he approached the mare in need, staring up at the beast. It seemed to look exactly like Trixie did on stage. Her hat, her cape, even a sickeningly vibrant cutie mark, all formed from the strange shadow-flesh. In its chest was a giant heart-shaped hole, reaching from the front to back, and inside, strung up like a marionette, was the first dark Trixie.

He glanced back at the real Trixie, who laid beside him on the floor in an unconscious heap.

"Think you can take the Great and Powerful Trixie, little colt?" The twisted, mangled copy produced an inequine laugh, far more sick and monstrous than the farmer had ever heard before.

He locked eyes with the smaller Trixie inside the beast, snorting as he gripped down tighter on the handle between his teeth. He managed to grunt past the item, "Apsaras! Bufu!" He didn't quite know what the second name was, but it felt right.

His Persona appeared as his side, waving her hands around one another before pulling them away. A collumn of ice shot from the ground before the dark Trixie, stabbing itself into the giant pony's belly. She didn't take kindly to the attack, howling in anger, "Agi!"

The ground near Mac burst into flames, leaving naught but scorch marks on the tile. The earth pony scooped the real Trixie onto his back, retreating to one of the many columns around the throne room. "Apsaras! Bufu!" He called out again as he ran, ducking behind the marble pillar with the unconscious unicorn.

A sudden searing pain shot up his forehooves as he glanced out from his cover. His Persona was slowly being impeded upon by a torrent of flames coming from the giant magician pony's mouth. The smaller pony that took the place of it's heart kept yelling 'Agi' over and over, surely casting the spell repeatedly at the biped. The longer he stared, the worse his legs burned.

He forcefully tapped his hoof against the ground, panting as he did so, "Perseus!"

The warrior took the place of the dancer, holding the flames back easily with his shield. Mac couldn't feel the searing against his legs any more, the cold air agitating the burns. He quickly examined Perseus, trying to find something like the order he gave Apsaras. Within a moment, he had it. "Zio!"

The biped guarding against the Shadow Trixie's attacks roared, thrusting his sword into the air. A moment later, a storm of lightning bolts struck down upon the head of the giant unicorn, each striking her horn with the utmost precision. The beast recoiled, an unearthly howl coming from her as her body curled. Not wasting a moment, Mac ran at the fiend, galloping up the monster's neck and back to jump into the heart-shaped hole. With a pair of quick, measured swings of his newly acquired sword, the farm pony cut a swath through the mare's hooves, forcing her out of the larger body.

The flesh borne from shadow disappeared, leaving only the golden eyed Trixie, who didn't seem to put up much more of a fight. Mac pulled himself from her back hesitantly, simply watching her as he backed up slowly to the real Trixie. As soon as he glanced to the real one, she seemed to rouse from her fainting spell.

"Wh-What happened?" The real Trixie asked as she rubbed her forehead with her hoof, opening her eyes slowly. After a single moment, she was back on her hooves inching away from the other her. "N-Not again!" She cried at the other mare.

Big Macintosh placed himself between the two, glancing down into the real one's eyes. He gave a silent, slow nod to her, backing out of her way again as the unicorn calmed herself.

"Applejack's brother? Why are you here?" All she gained in response was a shrug, and a quick motion back over to the other her. "No! I can't talk to whatever that thing is." She tried to turn away, only to have Mac lean in a bit closer.

"Ah can't rightly say ah know 'bout whatever goes on inside the minds of other ponies. But, ah do know this: everypony has things they ain't proud of, things they don't like about themselves. Ya' can't just ignore it and run away from the problem. Ya' gotta face yerself and accept that ya' ain't perfect." Mac looked down upon the showmare with those big, soulful eyes of his, giving her a gentle smile, and extending a hoof out for her.

Trixie hesitated, flinching at his statement as he mentioned 'not liking' the self. She glanced up at his face, shuffling her hooves as she watched his calm, still form. She gave him a small, nervous smile and a nod, reaching out to hold his hoof with her own for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, her formerly shaking chest calming. She looked over to the other her, standing alone, surrounded by whisps of darkness rising from her hooves.

"You may not be who I am entirely. But," the real Trixie conceded, "You're a part of me. You are me."

The unicorn's Shadow let her expression soften to a pacified smile, the dark strands flowing upward slowly glowing a strong blue. A blaze of the same flames Mac had become ever so slightly familiar with revealed another biped. This one was wrapped in a cloak that appeared to be a sea of stars, her skin a matching translucent black. Her eyes were both glowing a vibrant purple, matching the dark shade of it that covered the witch's hat upon her head. Cascades of luxurious hair lay underneath the hat, it in and of itself an almost iridescent gold. In her left hand was a caduceus, and in her right a tincture of some indiscernible liquid.

"Thou art I. And I am thou. Thou hast called upon thine inner strength to form me. My name is Circe, goddess of magic, and daughter of Hekate. I suppose I'll be your Persona." The female ape-thing bowed to her new User, despite her final words bearing a tired, sarcastic tone.

Mac watched as Trixie looked the creature up and down, her expression equal parts confused and unimpressed, "What are you?"

"Your Persona. Weren't you listening?" Circe answered with a groan, bringing a hand up to rub her forehead.

"I mean your species, or whatever. You look like a hairless monkey covered in star maps."

"I am what you'd call a 'human'," the creature began, "More or less. I'm more of a metaphysical representation of an archetype held within the collective unconsciousness of mankind, but for your droll little question, I'm a woman."

Trixie huffed at the Persona, tapping her hoof on the ground. With a burst of flame, Circe was dismissed. "Wha-" The unicorn found herself looking for the woman again, only to find nothing.

Mac imitated the gesture, winking Perseus out of existence. With a wave, he called the mare's attention to him. "Persona! Apsaras!"

Another blaze revealed the blue skinned female, bowing before Trixie. The show mare looked over the new human, finding herself in awe of the stallion. "You have two of them? Is that a standard thing? Can Trixie trade her arrogant thing in for this quiet one?"

Mac gave her a shrug, motioning toward Apsaras once more. "Perhaps you should learn from your recent 'encounter', Miss Trixie." The blue skinned human replied with a demure smile.

Trixie gave little more than a nervous laugh before turning to Mac. "Y-Yes. So, how do we get out of here? I'm feeling exhausted." She stated as her knees began shaking.

Even Mac could feel the strain of the oppressive world around them. Wherever they were, it most certainly wasn't Equestria. He glanced around, trying to get his bearings.

"Where did you enter from, Miss Trixie?" His Persona inquired, her smile never budging an inch.

"Well, the way I entered this dream was through that hallway. The heroine Shimmer Collar brought me down this hallway to face the evil Leather Whip, in a rather," the mare blushed a deep red as she started to explain what happened, her breath hitching nervously as she paused for a moment, "Compromising confrontation. Then that dark me appeared, and I suppose you two appeared to save my flank."

Apsaras glanced over to the double doors leading away from the throne. "Lead on, Miss Trixie." The Persona grinned, motioning toward the giant double doors. The blue unicorn walked up to the marble colored portal and pressed her hooves against it. She and Mac were surrounded by a white light on all sides, both squeezing their eyes shut.

The two grunted after a few moments. Mac felt as if he where thrown across a bar by a minotaur. Which wasn't entirely inaccurate. As his eyes opened, he found himself in a small, cramped wagon. His back was pressed against what felt like a dozen tiny bottles as he lay belly-up on a table against the wall.

He glanced up from his predicament at Trixie, who, thankfully, was propped up against a chair. Mac gave no mind to his current position, simply righting himself onto his hooves on the floor. He guessed, since there weren't too many wagons that were large enough for a pony in town, that it was Trixie's.

"W-Well, I suppose none of that was a dream then." Trixie awkwardly tried to pull her cloak over her with her magic, as if embarrassed by her nudity.

Mac glanced down to the table across from the one he was shot on to. There, lying in all its glory, was a porn comic. A heavily bondage themed porn comic. Starring two unicorn mares. He could faintly see an outline over the cutie marks of the characters. Trixie quickly threw herself onto the table, covering the comic with her hooves. She nervously laughed, "N-Nothing to see here."

Mac gave her a hard stare, gently pulling the item in question away from her via his teeth. "Oh my. Well, that certainly explains how you got into that other world then." Apsaras's voice echoed out, the Persona standing next to her User as she observed the item in question.

"Q-Quiet! It's n-not what it looks like." Trixie tried to pull it away from Mac, only for him to dodge each time.

"What my User is trying to say is that perhaps he and I should keep this somewhere safe until the two of you figure out why you both were pulled into that world."

The unicorn huffed as she rubbed her forehoof, staring at the floor. Her face was flushed a brighter shade of red than a Gala apple in September. "It's- It's an enchanted comic. The kind that pull you in to live the story. B-But they never had monsters like that, or even you for that matter! Why are you even in the real world!" She pointed a hoof accusingly at the woman.

"Those were Shadows, my dear. They appear in all mortal worlds when certain conditions are met. Likewise for us Personae." Apsaras bowed before the mare with the same calm smile, the expression seeming more smug than before.

Trixie grumbled in frustration, getting up from the table with her head hanging low. She idly offered a hoof out to Mac. "Thank you for rescuing me, Applejack's brother. I- I'm sorry about what I did with the whole Alicorn Amulet thing. The Great and- I'm trying to make up for acting like such a jerk before, if you'll forgive me?"

Mac gave her a moment before shrugging and giving a simple, "Eeyup."

Trixie's eyes shot open, keeping them locked on his. "What? Just like that? No 'you're a fraud and will always be one'? No 'you should leave and never come back'?"

"Nnnope." He sat down to pull his hooves up to his mouth, slowly placing the comic book between his work yoke and his neck. He grinned as he fixed it just so, extending his hoof to shake hers. An idle, somewhat ominous voice rang out in his mind as time seemed to stand still. He could see a single card floating before him. It appeared to be a pair of eyes staring past a flame, held within two hands.

Thou art I. And I am thou.

Thou hast established a new bond.

May this bond bring thee closer to the truth.

Thou shalt have our blessing when crafting Personae of the Magician Arcana.

The card disappeared as he shot a glance over to Apsaras, who gave an idle bow of the head toward him as he let go of Trixie's hoof. "Well, perhaps we should discuss this tomorrow if we're to get anywhere with it?" Trixie dismissed as she tugged at the sheets of her bed with her magic.

Mac gave her a half-nod, slowly walking toward the door.

"By the way, what is your name, exactly?"

"Big Macintosh," he replied without missing a beat, closing the door behind him as he walked on toward the farm. He roughly tapped his hoof against the ground, not caring to look back as he felt his Persona dismiss. The walk back to the farm was tiring. Exhausting, even.

He reached the barn again, waltzing inside to find the same comic book as before in the middle of the hay-strewn mess on the floor. The title read Power Ponies Volume 4: Attack of the Dunn Derby Devil. He placed it in his yoke as well, carrying it with him over to the rusty tool chest he claimed as his own. Applejack never looked in it, since he was the only one who could remotely open it. With a swift movement of his hoof, he shoved both of the comic books into the top drawer, and locked it.

Without a care for where he did so, the stallion found the nearest hay bale and promptly fell asleep against it. Just another weird Tuesday.

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Save Data?

>Yes

-No

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Player: Big Macintosh Apple

Current stats:

1/10 Understanding

1/10 Knowledge

2/10 Courage

2/10 Expression

1/10 Diligence

Key Items:

Velvet Key

Trixie's Questionable Comic

Power Ponies Vol. 4

Equipment:

Weapon: Gladius

Armor: n/a

Accessory: Work Yoke

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