The marketplace was buzzing with activity despite the humidity. Sweaty ponies were spending their hard-earned bits on this week’s necessities and frivolities. It was difficult for Twilight Sparkle not to bump into other ponies and even more so for Fluttershy. Every time the pegasus bumped into somepony, she let out a loud squeak that attracted the attention of all the ponies near her.
“Fluttershy, you don’t need to be so worried about bumping into other ponies. They don’t mind it all that much.”
“I know, but I’m just so… shy…” she whispered.
“I think I know that, Fluttershy. Let’s just get that last thing you needed. What was it again?”
“I think it was cherries. Wait! No, it was strawberries! No, no, no, cherries. Strawberries? I don’t know.”
Twilight let out a deep sigh, “Fluttershy, you really need to remember to bring a shopping list with you when running errands. How else are you going to know that you got everything? I’d go nuts if I didn’t know I’d done everything I had to do.” Helping Fluttershy with her shopping would be difficult, but she’d managed to find everything her friend was looking for so far and she wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.
o.0.o
“You were looking for leeks? How is that even similar to cherries, strawberries, bananas, oranges, really none of the things you said at first?”
“Well, they’re all really healthy…”
“Cookie dough is not healthy and you came up with that too.”
“Oh…”
“This could have been a lot easier if you just wrote everything down.”
“You’re right. I do need to take more care from now on. I’m sorry,” she whimpered.
“Don’t apologize. Anyways, I need to head back to the library. I have a checklist to make for tomorrow.”
Twilight turned in the direction of her home. Fluttershy could be so forgetful at times. It baffled Twilight how her friend could be such a great caretaker if she couldn’t keep herself organized. I guess I’ll just have to help her like all the other ponies around here, she mused to herself, feeding her ego. She giggled at the idea of more ponies needing her. Now let’s see what else I have to do today: make a checklist of this week’s chores, clean the library, pick up a nice gem for Spi… Her thoughts trailed off as she found herself staring at a unicorn from across the marketplace.
Her coat was a dark, majestic purple with black circles spattered randomly about her body and her mane was a light gray. She wore a hat that matched her coat to a tee. On her flank was a brown circle that contained a six pointed star, also brown. “What kind of Cutie Mark is that?” Twilight Sparkle thought aloud.
The mare snapped her head across the crowd and stared directly at Twilight. Her eyes blazed a fierce golden. She mouthed, ‘You,’ before trotting off into the crowd.
“Who was that?” Twilight thought aloud once more.
A familiar high-pitch voice sprang up from behind her, “I don’t even know!”
Twilight jumped.
“Pinkie!” she exclaimed in shock, “Don’t pop up like that, you’ll give me a heart attack.”
“Sorry, Twilight. I thought you were used to me doing that by now.”
“I don’t think anypony can ever get used to that, Pinkie. But let’s get back to the topic on hoof. Don’t you know everypony in Ponyville?
“Yeah!” she shouted, “But not her…” Pinkie’s head slid down and her eyes began to tear up. She wasn’t used to being ignored and the lack of attention was obviously getting to her.
“How come you don’t know her?”
“Well I saw her, tried to introduce myself, and I sang a random song out of nowhere… but we didn’t become instant best friends. She was talking to herself about something. She didn’t even hear me shoot my party cannon!” She tried to pick her head up, but it drooped downwards in disappointment once more, “I guess we can’t be friends…”
“I’m sure she was just busy. Talk to her another time and she’ll come around.”
“Yeah! Everypony wants to be my friend! In fact, I wrote a song about it. Wanna hear it, Twilight?”
“N-no thank you, Pinkie. I have to head home.”
“I’ll see you around town then!” the pink pony said before bouncing away from her friend.
o.0.o
Twilight walked over to the stairs of the library. She desperately needed sleep; something about the day’s events had tired her out more than usual.
“I’m turning in Spike. You should too. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” Spike opened his mouth to protest, but he didn’t say anything. Twilight was glaring at him furiously; she was not ready to handle his whining. She trotted up the stairs and her assistant reluctantly followed suit.
Her encounter with the purple unicorn earlier that day had set her on edge and she had yet to recover. The fact that Pinkie didn’t even know the newcomer’s name was disconcerting enough, but the way the mare had made eye contact with her from across the marketplace freaked her out. To make it even stranger, that pony knew who she had been looking at. She had to have known. Why else would she have mouthed, ‘You?’
Twilight turned off the lights in the bedroom and scrunched up under the covers. She couldn’t seem to find a comfortable position no matter which way she rolled. It’s alright, Twilight. You’re getting worked up over nothing. That was absolutely nothing, she reassured herself. She turned over on her side. Just take a few deep breaths and you’ll be fine.
She closed her eyes and began breathing rhythmically.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
In…
o.0.o
Her hooves met solid ground. She immediately opened her eyelids and found herself in a grand library, far larger than any she had seen. It would put the Royal Canterlot Library to shame. The floor was covered in velvet, as were the shelves. Books that had to be at least a thousand years old lined those shelves. Somewhere, a blue light lit the whole building. Her head turned to the windows lining the walls, but no light seemed to be coming in from them at all. In fact, she couldn’t make out anything through the windows; a thick fog blocked the view.
She turned around and saw a librarian’s desk. Behind it, in a grand chair that was almost a throne sat an ancient-looking colt. The Earth Pony’s mane was black except for a v-shaped block of white that ran from his chin to his chest. What little that was left of his mane was stark white just like the patch on his coat. Bloodshot eyes looked just about ready to leap from their sockets. His most astounding feature though was the length of his snout. Twilight had never seen anything like it and her mouth fell agape.
“Hello, Twilight Sparkle, I’m glad you came to visit me.” His voice was shrill, but strangely calming. “I see you and my nose have met. It’s always happy to make new friends.”
“Where am I?”
The ancient colt’s mouth unfurled into a large smile, “You’re at the crossroads between consciousness and unconsciousness.”
“Where?!”
“The Velvet Room, my dear. You have come here for a reason. What is it?”
“I don’t know! Shouldn’t you be the one telling me these things?”
“You’re so flustered. I’d hope I’d have you when you were calmer.”
“Flustered? Of course I’m flustered! I have no idea where I am and I’m being asked strange questions that I don’t know the answer to!”
“Well you are the first one here.”
“What does that mean?”
The colt sighed, “I do hope you manage. I’m afraid I just cannot help you at this moment. Please do come back though.”
o.0.o
“What do you mean by that?” she screamed. She was sitting up in her bed with her sheets held in between her front hooves. Her eyes darted left and right; Twilight was back in her bed. Spike was opening the curtains to let the morning light in. “Oh, Spike, I had the strangest dream last night.”
“Hm.”
“Can I tell you about it?”
“Sorry, Twi, but I’ve got a lot of work to do. Maybe later.” He picked up a sac next to his bed and walked out of the room.
“What does Spike have to do that doesn’t involve me? Is he trying to sneak away to Rarity’s or something? She doesn’t even like him like that. Oh well,” she sighed, “I guess I’ll just go and run my errands on my own.”
o.0.o
Twilight walked into Sugarcube Corner to find it seemingly deserted. There were cupcake wrappers all over the ground and none of the treats in the display case had been rotated from yesterday's batch. One cherry pie seemed to be rotting.
She rang the desk bell hoping to get someone’s attention, “Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Pinkie? Is anyone in here?” There was no answer.
She rang the bell once more and received the same reply.
Twilight sighed and walked out. This hadn’t been the first place to be empty.
o.0.o
The stalls were empty. All the stalls at the marketplace were empty. Ponies were milling about as normal, but nopony was shopping. Nopony even seemed to notice that the shopkeepers were gone and that the shops themselves were bare and free of merchandise.
Twilight stayed in the crowd for about ten minutes but she couldn’t find her friends or Spike. Or the unicorn from yesterday. She hadn’t even bumped into a single pony like she had the day before.
o.0.o
Twilight slowly approached Rarity’s boutique and knocked on the door. She was praying to Celestia that Rarity or Sweetie Belle were home and knew where Spike was.
There was an answer, but Rarity didn’t open the door, “Hello? Who is this? I’m very busy right now.”
“It’s Twilight Sparkle. I was wondering if you’d seen Spike around.”
There was no answer for several seconds. She almost sounded hesitant at first but her voice equalized quickly, “I haven’t seen him. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have several important orders to finish today.”
Before she had a chance to speak, Twilight heard Rarity trot away from her door.
Twilight drew in a sharp breath of the cool, crisp air around her. For such a strange day, the weather had been beautiful.
She gave up and walked home. Her chores would have to wait for another day and for some reason she was horribly exhausted yet again. Twilight felt strangely nervous as she approached her house. These past few days were far more unusual than any of her other experiences in Ponyville.
o.0.o
Twilight once more found herself rolling under her sheets. No matter what position she was in, she was uncomfortable.
Why didn’t anypony want to talk to me today?
Take a deep breath.
Where were the shopkeepers?
In.
Why wouldn’t Rarity open her door?
Out.
Why isn’t Spike home yet?
In.
Shouldn’t anypony have noticed that the stalls were empty?
The clock ticked loudly.
It was nearly midnight. “11:58? I need to sleep.”
She didn’t. Instead she found herself staring at the clock. She stared at the second hand as it slowly ticked away once, twice, thrice, ten seconds, thirty seconds, sixty seconds, ninety seconds, midnight.
The air went chill.
The clock had frozen. The second hand was no longer moving at all. Twilight leapt out of bed to find the wooden floor to be rock hard. She opened the curtains so she could look out the window.
The moon was green. The sky was red.
She backed away from the window slowly. What’s going on here? “Spike? Are you here?” No answer. She was alone in the library.
Calm down, Twilight. You’re probably just having a crazy dream like last night. Yeah. That’s the only rational explanation.
She kept stepping backwards. She wanted to go outside and get some fresh air. Fresh air would help her head. It would help. Fresh air always did.
Her hoof was wet. She was stepping in something wet. She looked behind her to see what it was. Black ooze. Black ooze was coming up through the floor.
Twilight squeaked. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t muster it. She looked up from the floor. More black ooze was coming out of the walls. She ran, darted down the stairs and out of the house. Before leaving the building, she dared one look back. The black ooze had coagulated and was following her down the stairs.
Run.
I am.
Faster.
I can’t.
The ground shook and Twilight tripped. She stood back up and looked in the direction of the tree house. The black mass had escaped and it was slowly taking form. Arms were popping out of its back one at a time. The ends slowly separated into fingers.
Her breathing became ragged. She couldn’t control herself in the sight of this monster.
The arms reached into the mass and pulled out ornate swords.
Those were the kind the Unicorns used to use in ritualistic sacrifices. Her eyes widened in anticipation of what would happen if she didn't run.
She tried to scream once more. Perhaps if somepony heard her, they would save her. She closed her eyes and took in as much air as her lungs could hold before shouting. She couldn’t even manage a squeak this time.
Her eyes opened. There had to have been at least a hundred arms coming out of the ooze and almost all of them were holding a sword. All but one.
She fixated on that last arm: the arm holding the expressionless, blue mask.
She wanted to run, but she couldn’t anymore. Her legs wouldn’t obey her.
Twilight closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
An arm was raising high above her; she could hear it.
“I art thou, and thou art I.”
Her eyes sprang open, “Who said that?”
She received no answer.
She looked at the black ooze. It had stopped for a few seconds, but it was now continuing its assault.
From far behind her, she heard somepony shout, “Evoke him!”
Evoke.
Twilight closed her eyes delicately. She was not going to die.
Her legs finally followed her commands. She spread out into a defensive stance and slowly whispered to herself, “Persona.”
She opened her eyes and found herself grinning. The power flowing through her was intoxicating. This power… This power is mine.
The ooze was receding from her. It was afraid. Afraid of her. No. It was afraid of what she had unleashed.
“My Persona.”
She turned around to take a good look at it. It was tall. And whatever it was, it was most certainly not a pony or any other creature she had seen before. It stood on two legs with its hands placed on its midsection. Black and white stripes raced vertically down its body. It was wearing the same mask the shadow had held but this mask had a sunny smile on it. It raised one foot and took a step forward. Long black boots ran past its knees.
“I art thou, and thou art I.”
“I see,” she gleefully responded.
Twilight followed its lead and walked closer to the ooze.
“Give me thy command and I shall slay the Shadow.”
Twilight hesitated. Slay?
“It is what must be done.”
She lifted her hoof up and as it slammed to the ground, screamed, “Hama!”
The creature flew upwards and extended its arms outwards. A bright light shone from it.
The black ooze first began hissing but as the light reached it, it screamed. Cards quickly rose from the ground around it. The light grew brighter as the ooze’s screams grew louder. Then the cards flew at its skin and the screaming ceased. The thing had completely disappeared, except for its mask.
Twilight approached it and put her hoof on it. Stone cold.
She turned around to see her Persona, but it was gone. In its place stood the Unicorn from the marketplace. They looked directly into each others’ eyes once more, fierce golden eyes meeting Twilight’s bright purple.
The unicorn didn’t mouth her words this time. Instead, she spoke aloud, “This is perfect.”
In the distance a piano played. As each note was slowly and carefully drawn out of the instrument, a woman would sing along with it. She never formed words though; she only sang the notes as if her voice was another instrument.
"I'm glad you returned Ms. Sparkle," said the ancient Earth Pony sitting across from Twilight.
"Where is that music coming from?" she wondered. She could only see shelves wherever she looked. It seemed that if there was an open space, a shelf was there. Everywhere, except for the desk she was sitting at now.
"My assistants Theodore and Margaret are playing. They're quite the masters at their craft."
"Theodore and Margaret? So you have a name too?"
"Sly little pony, aren't you?" He cackled for a few seconds before regaining his composure, "Yes. My name is Igor. I will be aiding you through your journey."
"Journey? I'm going somewhere?" Twilight shifted in her seat. Something about this room gave her the chills.
"Perhaps. As far as I know, you'll be staying in Ponyville. And not in Ponyville. But my foresight has weakened over the years. I cannot help you much with your future, but I can help you now. Soon."
"How?"
The singer stopped. There were clicks on the floor far away.
"In the time to come, I can aid you with your Persona."
o.0.o
"Persona?" Twilight had never heard the word in that context before. A persona was figurative, not literal. The purple Unicorn with the golden eyes let out a sigh. She seemed disappointed with Twilight. "Well I've never read about anything like that. There's very little I haven't read about, so it just seems sort of..."
"Flustered."
"Huh?"
"Stop being flustered."
"What?” Twilight became angry with the other pony’s sudden request, “How can I not be flustered? I was almost killed and now you're speaking nonsense at me!"
"Sorry."
Twilight kicked at the dirt beneath her hoof. She couldn’t believe she had just screamed at somepony she just met. She wasn't sure whether she was supposed to speak now or if the other pony was just regaining her composure. Twilight waited for a few more moments before deciding to speak up, "Tell me more about this 'Persona' thing."
The Unicorn's lips grew into a wide smile, "It is you. Your Persona is your own power manifested."
Twilight's head tilted to the side, "'My own power manifested?' Like my magic?"
"No. Not at all. You can't even use your magic right now."
"I can't? What do you mean?"
"Try."
Twilight's horn began to glow. She had to see whether or not she had been told the truth. Magic can't just disappear like that. It can't. Right? Her horn glowed and sparks flew out, but she couldn't cast any spells or even manage to lift a pebble.
"I can't use my magic..."
"But you can use your Persona and its magic,” the Unicorn licked her lips at the thought. It was as if she enjoyed the thought of a Persona fighting.
Twilight pretended to not have noticed, "What exactly is my Persona? It certainly doesn't look like me, so how could it be me?"
"It is Hyperion.
"Hyperion?"
The unicorn said it much slower this time, savoring the name, "Hyperion."
o.0.o
"Bon Bon!"
"Hold on a moment, I need to catch my breath."
Lyra trotted to the tree Bon Bon was leaning against.
Bon Bon looked up at Lyra, "Why are you so smiley, Missy?"
"You just look so funny like that!"
"Well excuse me! You're the one who's making me walk so far uphill at night."
"I just needed you to see this with me," Lyra sat down next to Bon Bon, "You'll love it! If you can manage to make it in time."
"I won't be too long, I'm not that old."
"You're a lot older than me."
"Get closer so I can hit you."
Lyra stood up and started bouncing away from Bon Bon. "Come on, we only have a few minutes left."
Bon Bon took a deep breath in and sprinted to catch up to Lyra.
"Look, the hill's about to crest!"
"Does this mean we can stop walking?"
"Of course!"
The cream Earth Pony started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Lyra walked back to where Bon Bon had stopped.
"This is," she explained as she hit Lyra on the top of her head.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?"
In between laughs she managed to say, "You never call a mare old."
"Alright, I won't anymore. Yeesh, that really hurt," Lyra turned around to look at the crest of the hill, "Come on Bon Bon, you'll be able to see the meteor shower best at the very top of the hill."
Bon Bon had stopped laughing. Lyra turned around to see if she was okay.
"Bon Bon, why did you... Bon Bon?"
She was frozen mid-laugh.
o.0.o
"That 'freezing' you refer to is the Dark Hour, Ms. Sparkle."
"So it has a name?"
"Everything does. Even your Persona does."
"Hyperion?"
"Yes,” Igor unclasped his hooves and placed one on the desk in front of him. “I'm a little surprised you know his name."
"Oh! I read about him in a book. Mythological figure and all..."
"A book?"
o.0.o
"Yes. That's where you found out about him,” the Unicorn instructed.
"But why would I lie?" Twilight hated lying. She would need a very good reason to ever do so.
"Safety."
“Safety? Safety from what exactly?”
“Him.”
o.0.o
“I see,” Igor took a long pause before continuing, “Your Persona is a very powerful one. I knew somepony with the same Persona at one time. Hyperion looked much different at the time though. I didn’t know Personae could change so drastically, but I don’t know a lot about how Equestria functions.” He snickered at the joke that only he understood. Twilight Sparkle let out a quick laugh to keep the situation from becoming awkward.
“So, uh… what do you mean you don’t know much about how Equestria works?”
He snickered again. This conversation must have been hilarious to him. “I’m not from here. The rules are very different and I’m barely learning them any faster than you are,” he wouldn’t stop cackling at that thought.
“What are the rules exactly?” Twilight asked. She wanted to keep the conversation moving.
“Let’s start with The Dark Hour.”
o.0.o
Why did it get so much darker all of a sudden?
“Bon Bon, stop that. It isn’t funny.” Lyra’s voice was quivering, “Please... I’m scared.”
She looked up at the now green sky and blood red moon. This isn’t right. This isn’t what I wanted to show you. Her horn began to glow, “Bon Bon, wake up!”
Sparks flew at her companion and bounced off of her cream coat. Lyra put her hoof on the pony.
“You’re stone cold…”
“Just like you.”
Lyra turned around and saw a pony hidden in the shadows of the tree where Bon Bon had been a few moments ago.
“Who are you?” she screamed in fright.
Its voice was cold and almost robotic, “I’m you.”
o.0.o
“You need to be careful around him.”
“Who is ‘Him’ though?”
“Igor…” The mare sat down and shuddered after saying the name.
“Why do I have to be so careful? What has he done?”
“I… can’t say.”
“Did he hurt you?”
Twilight saw the other unicorn beginning to cry.
“I have to go.”
“Why?”
“Look at the moon, and you’ll know.”
Twilight tilted her head up to see the red fading into white.
“I don’t see why that matters,” she brought her head back down to where the mare had been before, but she was now gone, “Of course. Mysterious disappearance. Why did I not see this happening ahead of time?”
o.0.o
“I did not see it happen fully myself, but my assistant, Margaret, told me much about what she learned of the Dark Hour and I would trust her with any knowledge.”
“What did she tell you?”
“Well, it appears the Dark Hour is the only time ponies can summon their Persona. There were exceptions where I came from. On the topic of actually summoning your Persona though, you do that differently too. You’re supposed to evoke them...”
“But I did.”
“I wasn’t finished. You’re supposed to evoke them by mocking suicide. You just… summon them. Easily. I’ve never seen anything like it outside of Mayonaka. But there was one more thing that truly surprised me; both you and the other one have Personae that don’t match your gender. It’s almost unheard of.”
Her head tilted to the right. She thought she was the only pony with a Persona, “Other one?”
“Hm? Did I forget to mention you weren’t the first? Well you weren’t. You came upon your Persona about a month after her. In fact, she was a Unicorn just like you.”
“She was?”
“Yes, but she did not come upon her Persona like you… I’m not entirely sure how exactly one is supposed to come across their Persona in this land.”
“I see… So how did she do it?”
“It’s quite an interesting story, actually.”
o.0.o
“You’re… me? No. I’m me.”
“I am you. And I know everything about you.” The pony stepped out from underneath the tree. Her aquamarine coat matched her mane with the single white highlight sticking out like a sore hoof. She looked exactly like Lyra, except for her sickeningly yellow eyes. “I even know how you feel about Bon Bon.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“It’s just so unnatural though. A mare can’t love another mare. It’s not right. And besides she probably doesn’t even like you anyways.”
“Shut up!”
“I mean, she’s just so mature and you’re so childish. Why does she even hang out with you anyways? She must just feels sorry for you.”
“No! We’re great friends...” Lyra’s eyes were tearing up.
“I’m just not good enough for her. I’ll never be.”
“You’re wrong! That’s not how I feel at all… YOU’RE NOT ME!”
The second Lyra let out a cackle as black ooze seeped up from the ground around her.
“What are you doing? Stop it!”
The ooze slowly crept up the laughing pony’s legs. It was coating her from head to toe. She stopped laughing for a moment and stared deep into Lyra’s eyes.
Lyra attempted to blink back the tears forming in her eyes, “You can’t be me.”
The pony bellowed with baritone laughter. Her voice, now much higher than it had once been, seemed to be trying to pierce Lyra’s eardrums and make them bleed, “I am a Shadow, the true self.”
o.0.o
“Why are you stopping?”
“Well I don’t know much more other than that she summoned her Persona then.”
“Is she still alive?”
“I would assume so. Personae are a very strong force of nature.”
“What’s her name?”
“Margaret didn’t find out. She only saw a blue Unicorn summon a Persona of the Magician Arcana.”
“Arcana? Like tarot cards?”
“I’d love to talk more, but the Dark Hour draws to its close. I’ll leave you with one last piece of advice: help everypony and you may be able to save them all.”
o.0.o
“Wait! I still have so many questions!” She turned her head left and right, “I’m back home again... How does he do that?”
She gingerly felt the floor of the house. Soft, as soft as wood should be.
“So that’s only during the Dark Hour.”
She walked over to the window and drew the curtains back. The gibbous moon was shining a bright white in contrast with the black night sky. The light from the moon hit Spike’s face and woke him up. He opened his eyes and looked at Twilight. “Twi, what are you doing?”
“I just wanted to look at the sky for a little.”
“That’s nice,” the dragon yawned, “Can you close the curtains? I want to sleep.”
“Sure, Spike.” She let the curtains fall back in place and walked over to her to-do list for the next day. She picked up a quill, dipped it in ink, and in the corner of the parchment wrote herself a reminder, ‘Help everypony until I know.’
o.0.o
“Somepony help me!” Lyra screamed into the darkness. She turned back to stare at the monster that had once looked just like her. Its eyes still glowed yellow, but everything else had changed. It was a towering beast, standing at least twenty feet tall on two, mechanical legs. Gloved arms extended past its hips. A black head covered in white hair held the malicious eyes. On its back was a large lyre, just like Lyra played. Holding it all together was a golden torso made of some metal she was sure she had never seen before.
“Nopony is here to help you.”
You’re here to help you.
Lyra broke eye contact with the monster to try and find the voice that had just spoken. “Who said that?”
The monster’s tone became angry, “You will not stall me.” It grabbed the lyre from its back and began to play a nocturne. The song seemed to be coming from inside Lyra’s head rather than the instrument being played. She was getting sleepy. The song made her feel at ease. She could close her eyes and all her troubles would be gone. If she just gave up, everything would solve itself.
But they won’t.
Her eyes flicked open and she backed away from the lyre, “You’re right. I need to face my problems.”
A yellow eye twitched, “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
Lyra looked downwards as if to see if the ground had an answer for her, but it did not. She made eye contact with the monster once more, “I guess I’m talking to myself. I have to solve my own problems. And that includes you.”
The monster gritted its teeth and took in a deep breath.
“You were right about how I feel about Bon Bon. You summarized all my fears, but you forgot one thing: I’m not a fraidypony. I’m stronger than what you make me out to be. You may be a part of me, but you are not all of me. You’re the weak part.”
The yellow eyes disappeared under closing eyelids for a moment, “I see... But that does not change anything!” The eyelids opened to reveal eyes that were now glowing red, “I will still kill you!”
Lyra closed her eyes as the monster raised a hand to deal its final blow.
I art thou, and thou art I.
“I know that now,” she whispered to herself. She took in a deep breath and shouted, “Persona!”
She opened her eyes and looked behind her. Another creature, just like the one trying to kill her stood there. Its eyes shone blue like the ocean as did its body.
“Give me thy command, and I shall slay the Shadow.”
Lyra’s head turned back to the now frightened creature standing across from her. It was taking in ragged breaths as it realized its own demise was imminent.
She put one hoof forward to bring herself closer to the creature, “Bon Bon, this is for you... Agi!”
The Persona took the golden lyre from its back and strummed a bolero from the strings. Flames appeared on the creature’s body as each successive note was played. Its screams of pain were drowned out by the beautiful song. By the time the song had finished, it was completely covered in flames.
Lyra looked to the frozen Bon Bon who would be able to see the remains of the fire.
“Finish the monster off. I don’t want Bon Bon to see a trace of it.”
The Persona took one last pluck at the lyre and all that was left of the horrifying creature was a pile of ash. A breeze blew its remains away.
The sky was fading into its normal colors.
“I must leave now.”
“No, don’t leave just yet! I need you to be strong.”
It gave no reply; it just disappeared like the green sky and the red moon.
Lyra collapsed. She was exhausted after fighting herself.
She heard Bon Bon cry her name from nearby before she fell asleep.
o.0.o
Margaret stood from afar, watching the events unfold before her.
She felt Igor’s cold hoof on her back, “What can you tell me?”
“I can’t say much yet, Master. I will report when this is finished.”
“Good. You are quite the help you know.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Igor walked back through the portal to the Velvet Room and closed it.
She picked up a clipboard off the ground. She wasn’t used to taking notes, but what she had was very useful for her master and for her.
“We’ll just have to see how this all unfolds, Elizabeth.”
She settled down on the grassy hill and put her head in her hooves. If anypony saw her, she didn’t want them to see her crying.
“I miss you, Elizabeth. Please come back.”
