Persona: Reflection

Friday, September 8th
Morning

As Sunset Shimmer walked to school, she heard Rarity call out to her.

“Hey,” she said running to Sunset's side, “Sorry I haven't been around. My mom had an accident so she needs a lot of extra help around the shop. Nothing serious happened, did it?”

“Sort of, but you don't need to worry,” Sunset said, trying to ease Rarity. She shook her head though.

“I'm going to worry regardless,” Rarity said, “We're friends after all. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask.”

Sunset Shimmer and Rarity continued their walk together making small talk.

Friday, September 8th
Lunch Time

Sunset closed her locker and walked toward the cafeteria. On the way, she stopped and saw Trixie walk up to her.

“Hey Sunset,” Trixie said enthusiastically, “I'm free after school today, so if you want, let's hang out, okay?”

Trixie walked off. Sunset Shimmer thought about hanging out with Trixie today.

Friday, September 8th
After School

After school, Sunset went looking for Trixie. She found her sitting in the gymnasium with her arms folded. She didn't look to busy, so Sunset went over to her and said hi.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Trixie said smiling, “I was just thinking about you,” she caught herself, “Wait, that came out wrong, um... I wasn't... thinking about you... ugh... shut up Trixie...”

It looked like she was having a little trouble, so Sunset Shimmer simply asked Trixie herself if she wanted to hang out.

“Yeah, I'd like that,” Trixie said, looking relieved.

Trixie took Sunset Shimmer to the pizza shop. They had just ordered their pizza, and were now eating their slices, Trixie's being a pineapple pizza slice, while Sunset ordered a pepperoni slice.

“I figured I owed you,” Trixie said, “I mean, you rescued me from my shadow and all. I know this doesn't match up to what you went through for me, but it's the least I could do.”

“You don't have to go that far,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“W-well, I still wanted to something for you,” Trixie said laughing awkwardly.

“Before last year, I never did stuff like this for other people,” Trixie explained, “I expected people to treat me. Simply the action of being near me was enough of an honor,” she smiled sadly, “I was a real mess, huh?”

“I was worse,” Sunset Shimmer admitted.

“I guess that's something we both have in common, huh?” Trixie said, her smile now looking more peaceful, “We started out as horrible people, and now seek redemption.”

Trixie released a breath of relief.

“That's why I admire you so much,” Trixie said, “When you first came to this school, you were the queen of all bitches, and now you've done a complete 180. Everyone loves you,” Trixie looked up, “It's funny, because you essentially still ended up at the top, just now it's for the right reasons.”

Trixie looked at Sunset Shimmer with a loving smile.

“You're amazing, Sunset Shimmer,” Trixie said, “I'm honored to be able to fight by your side.”

“I'm honored to have you by my side,” Sunset said. Trixie looked down blushing.

“Um... thanks...” Trixie said, smiling despite herself.

Sunset Shimmer could feel Trixie's deep admiration for her.

Magician Arcana: Rank 2

“Enough about me,” Trixie said, “You're from Equestria, right? What's it like over there?”

Sunset Shimmer spent some quality time with Trixie before they headed home.

Friday, September 8th
Evening

When Sunset Shimmer made it home, she went right to her room and got started on her homework. As she studied, she could feel herself getting smarter.

Monday, September 11th
Lunch Time

Sunset Shimmer and Trixie met up and walked toward the lunch room together. On the way, they saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash standing together, Applejack looking a little frantic.

“What's wrong?” Trixie asked when they reached them. Rainbow Dash turned to Sunset and Trixie with a frown.

“I don't know,” Rainbow Dash said, “She said something about a mirror, and Rarity being missing.”

Huh?! Rarity was missing?! She wasn't...

“Ah'm callin her again!” Applejack said suddenly, pulling out her cellphone and calling Rarity, “Come on girl... pick up the phone...” she urged frantically.

“Hello lovely person, if you're hearing this I am unable to reach my phone, but please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible,” her answering machine played, audible to everyone. Applejack hung up her phone and looked down biting her lip.

“Damn it...” she said through gritted teeth.

“You don't think she's there do you?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“Ah pray not...” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash looked at everyone confused.

“Um, hey. I'm here too,” she said, “Mind filling me in on the big secret?”

Sunset Shimmer explained to Rainbow Dash about the mirror world, and what happened to Silver Spoon. She also went into how Rarity might have been targeted by the kidnapper.

“We're jumping to conclusions here...” Rainbow Dash said slowly, as if unsure.

“Dash! She ain't pickin up her phone! Rarity of all people, not answerin her phone?! The girl practically lives on it!”

“Remember her mother's accident though?” Dash asked, “If she's working the shop she isn't going to be able to answer her phone.”

Sunset did remember Rarity mentioning to her that her mother had an accident and needed extra help at the boutique. She mentioned this to both Applejack and Trixie, the latter visibly calmer.

“So she might be okay?” Trixie asked, Sunset Shimmer nodding, “Alright. Listen, we'll check the mirror tonight. If anything shows up, we'll know for sure if Rarity is trapped there.”

“Right,” Applejack said, calming down a bit, “God, Ah pray we don't see nothin.”

“I can check her house on the way to school,” Rainbow Dash said, “Applejack, I'll call you with the results.”

“Thanks, Dash,” Applejack said, “Keep an eye on Fluttershy too, just in case, ya know?”

“Got it,” Dash said turning to Sunset Shimmer, “If she is stuck there, you'll be able to get her out, right?” Sunset Shimmer nodded, “Alright. Good luck, okay?”

When Rainbow Dash left, Applejack turned to Sunset Shimmer and Trixie, “Ah'll let Pinkie Pie know as well. If y'all see Rarity between now an' midnight, let me know, alright?”

“Yeah, got it,” Trixie said. Applejack walked off, and Trixie turned to Sunset Shimmer, “I really hope Applejack is wrong,” Trixie said, “I don't want to have to use this power, ya know?”

Sunset Shimmer understood. She hoped the same as well. She decided to go straight home after school in order to get ready to check the mirror.

Monday, September 11th
Evening

It was night time, and Sunset Shimmer was already in her pajamas in her room. As she waited for midnight, her cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was Applejack.

“Ah just got a call from Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said, sounding a little frantic, “She couldn't find Rarity!”

Sunset Shimmer was horrified when she heard that.

“Am mean, she has a tendency ta work overtime designin stuff, but at this point...”

“We don't know anything for certain,” Sunset Shimmer said, trying to calm Applejack down.

“Yeah, yer right. Pinkie Pie thinks that only Persona users can see the victims, so if you and Trixie see her, you'll let me know, right?”

Sunset Shimmer told Applejack she'd call her as soon as possible.

“Thanks. Ah don't know what I'd do if anythin happened ta her. She's... special ta me.”

Sunset Shimmer wasn't sure if she understood, but she accepted that as Applejack hung up. She looked at her clock, seeing that it was one minute to midnight. She sat down in front of her mirror, waiting to see if anything would appear. During the weekend, she actually did a test to see if anything came up on random nights. Apparently the mirror only showed images when someone was trapped in there. If twelve o'clock hits and nothing shows up, they were good.

Sadly, they weren't so lucky.

Her mirror rippled, and Sunset Shimmer saw the same dark forest. This time the focus was in a gothic castle. It looked somewhat like Princess Twilight's castle back in Equestria, only sinister looking.

Closer...

Look closer...

Just like last time, she heard a voice telling her to look closer. Was that Cordelia? Could she only look closer at the image when Cordelia told her to?

She squinted her eyes, looking closer at the castle. Just like with Silver Spoon's mansion, the image zoomed into the castle, showing another room. It looked like the throne room. At first Sunset Shimmer wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she noticed that if she willed it, the image would move so she could see more of it.

Taking control of the image, she looked around the throne room. She felt a sense of urgency, as if the image would disappear at any moment. If that happened, she wouldn't know where Rarity was. Looking around for a bit, saw something hanging on the ceiling. Deciding to look at that, she saw a golden cage hanging over the carpet, a little in front of the throne.

Sitting in the cage, was Rarity.

She was wearing her usual attire, meaning that she was taken probably while working late. Her arms were shackled to the bottom of the cage in front of her, and her feet were shackled to the bottom of the cage as well, forcing her to sit in a sort of damsel like manner. The shackles looked like they were made of diamonds with no key whole, and she had a white scarf as a gag. Sunset looked closely at the scarf and saw that it was tied so tightly that it would be hell to untie.

Rarity's mascara was running, showing that she had been crying. She looked terrified.

As the image faded away, her cellphone went off. The caller ID showed it was Trixie this time. She answered the phone.

“You saw, right?!” Trixie asked.

“That was definitely Rarity,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“Damn it, its too late to go in and search for her!” Trixie said. She sounded just as frantic as Applejack, if not more, “Let's meet up tomorrow at school! We have to get in there as soon as possible!”

Sunset said she'd see her at school, and hung up. Applejack had wanted Sunset to call her with the results. She'd be sent into a frenzy if she knew, but she promised.

After a second, she decided to call Applejack.

“Ah saw the mirror,” Applejack said softly, “But Ah couldn't see into the castle. Um... was Rarity...?”

Sunset Shimmer confirmed that she saw Rarity. Applejack made a saddened moan, one of grief.

“No...” Applejack said, “Rarity, she's...”

She sounded like she was about to cry. Sunset knew that Rarity and Applejack had been best friends since elementary school, but she seemed to be taking this a lot more personal. Why was Applejack so serious?

“How scared was she?” Applejack asked. Sunset tried to calm Applejack down, but she heard something slam on the other side, “Ah need ta know! Was Rarity okay?!”

My god, Sunset Shimmer thought, she was taking this really hard. She knew better than to lie to Applejack, so she told her that Rarity looked really scared, and apparently had been crying.

“Damn it... DAMN IT!!!” Applejack cried, “When Ah git mah hands on that damned kidnapper, Ah swear, I'll kill them!”

Sensing that Applejack was going to co crazy, Sunset told her that they were going to plan a rescue tomorrow.

“Ah'll be there,” Applejack said, shocking Sunset Shimmer, “Don't try ta stop me, Sunset! Ah don't care if Ah ain't got one of them Persona things, Ah'm gonna save Rarity!”

She wasn't going to be swayed at this point, so she said she'd see her there. After saying good bye to Applejack, Sunset Shimmer decided to go to bed.

Tuesday, September 12th
Lunch Time

Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack went to the statue in front of the school to talk, taking advantage of student privileges to eat outside.

“Poor Rarity...” Pinkie Pie said looking down.

“It's going to be okay, right?” Trixie asked, “Do we know how long she's been in there?”

“She hasn't been there a week,” Pinkie Pie said, “I talked to her on Sunday, so she was at least okay then.”

“Ah don't care when she was thrown in there,” Applejack said, catching everyone's attention, “Rarity needs me, an' here Ah am sittin in a classroom wastin my time!”

She turned and walked off, about to leave school, but Trixie ran in her way.

“Hold on,” Trixie said, “I know you're upset, but we can't cut class!”

“Right now, Rarity is trapped in that world, probably waitin till her shadow decides ta make a feast of her!” Applejack said, “Ah'm goin ta save her!”

“And what will you say to the authorities when they ask why you cut class?” Trixie asked, “That someone pulled Rarity into a mirror and locked her in a cage? Yeah, the police will go for that.”

Applejack looked down in frustration. Sunset hadn't ever seen Applejack this upset before. She was usually so composed. To see her like this was scary.

“And what will you do when you get there,” Trixie continued, “Assuming you can even get in that world, you don't have a Persona, or any way of defending yourself in there. You won't be able to save Rarity. The best you could do is get captured by the shadows yourself. I speak from experience.”

That seemed to calm Applejack a bit, but she still looked away dejected.

“Yeah, but Rarity...” Applejack said.

“I promise we'll save her,” Sunset Shimmer said, immediately calming Applejack down completely.

“Alright, but Ah'm still comin in with y'all,” Applejack said.

“I'm going in too,” Pinkie Pie said, “I promise, I'll stay in the back, but you'll need me in order to find the castle. I get the feeling that this one will be different then the last time.”

Trixie looked down thinking, “Damn, this is getting complicated,” she turned to Sunset, “What do you want to do?”

“Just be careful,” Sunset Shimmer said to both Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Both of them nodded.

“I will,” Pinkie Pie said, “I promise.”

Applejack looked away, not saying anything. Sunset Shimmer hoped that she would be calm.

“Okay, let's meet up at the antique shop after school,” Trixie said, “We don't move in until everyone is present.”

“Right,” Pinkie Pie said, “But I couldn't even get in if I tried,” she continued with a giggle.

“Hmph!” Applejack grunted looking away, arms crossed.

Sunset felt a little uneasy taking everyone with her, but it was reassuring to know that she wouldn't be fighting alone. She finished lunch with her friends and went back to class, getting herself mentally ready to find Rarity.

Tuesday, September 12th
After School

Sunset Shimmer decided to go into town to buy supplies before they went into the mirror. It was dangerous in there, and they didn't have magic like in Equestria. Sure, they had Personas now, but they could only do so much.

She had the antique sword with her, wrapped up in a cloth to hide it. She wasn't sure if it would last another fight, but it was the best she had. As she walked into the shopping district, she noticed a young man standing in front of the Daidara's Metal Work's shop. He was Japanese, with short black hair, wearing a white tank top, blue jeans, and a white head band. As Sunset Shimmer approached his shop, he turned to her.

“You,” he said. Sunset Shimmer looked around, wondering if he was talking to her, “Yes, you young lady. You have a particular glimmer in your eyes. I sense a strong sense of justice within you, and a sense of duty. Would you by any chance be on a journey?”

“Sort of...” Sunset Shimmer said.

“I could tell,” the man said, “Hm...” he walked over to her and examined the wrapped up sword, “May I see that?”

Sunset Shimmer saw no harm in it, so she nodded and let him look at the sword. Upon seeing it, his eyes lit up.

“This insignia!” he said, “This is my master's handiwork! You're using one of master's swords?”

She had no idea what he was talking about, but she had a feeling that he would recognize his master's work, so she nodded.

“Please, come inside with me,” he said urgently. Sunset followed the man inside the shop.

She had never seen the interior of a metal work's shop, but it was exactly what she thought it would look like. Swords and other weapons hanging on the stone walls, and a large forge in the back behind the counter. Sunset heard clanging, and a few minutes later the man, named Lei, handed her a sword a lot like the antique sword, but shinier.

“I reinforced it for you,” Lei said, “Now it's combat ready.”

“Why did you do that?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“A few years ago, my master helped a kid a lot like you,” Lei explained, “He didn't know exactly what was going on, but this kid had eyes a lot like yours, and seemed to depend on his weapons. He told me that if I ran into anyone with the eyes, I was to help them with their journey.”

Sunset Shimmer looked around at the assortment of weapons. She was surprised. She didn't just see swords, but she saw staffs and javelins, nun-chucks, whips, large bladed hoops, smaller bladed rings in pairs, armored boots, and even hand guns. She also saw suits of armor hanging on the wall.

She asked Lei if she could buy weapons for her friends too.

“Certainly,” Lei said, “Consider my shop your personal armory.”

Sunset called Trixie, asking her what sort of equipment she wanted. After buying under armor for both of them, and a staff for Trixie, she headed off to the antique shop.

She now had everything she needed, so she began making her way to the Antique Shop. She was about to walk in, but the Velvet Key in her pocket started glowing. A second later, a ghostly blue door appeared next to the antique shop. Other people walked past the door and payed it no mind. Was she the only one who could see it.

So it begins.

Now, if I could have a moment of your time.

Was that Igor? She remembered he said to use the key when the door appeared. Sunset Shimmer approached the door and put the key into the key hole, happy to see that it fit. The door opened, and everything around her was engulfed in a white flash.

When she came to, she saw that she was in the Velvet Room, Igor and Amelia sitting in their usual spots.

“Welcome, to the Velvet Room,” Igor said, “Now that your journey has begun, Amelia and I will explain our purpose. Throughout your journey, you will come across many Personas. These will be acquired after certain battles. You can bring them to me, and I will fuse them into more powerful Personas.”

He could fuse Personas? She assumed that Personas gained via fusion were stronger than ones found in the mirror world.

“The Personas you gain will be recorded here,” Amelia stated, referring to the large book in her lap, “This Persona Compendium can then be used to recall Personas previously fused, for a small fee of course.”

She had to pay to recall her Personas? Well, even they had to make a living, she assumed, though she did wonder what they'd use the money for.

“The next time we meet, will be of your own free will,” Igor said, “I look forward to working with you.”

Sunset Shimmer smiled and thanked both of them, and then left the Velvet Room. Outside, she saw that no time had passed. That place was weird, but at least no time was wasted.

Sunset took a deep breath, and walked into the Antique Shop, ready to save Rarity, and start her journey. She wouldn't let anything happen to her no matter what.

This time, she would succeed.