You open your eyes again. It's the same room as the last few times. The fog horn sounds loudly as you clear your vision.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

You turn to see the familiar face. Sonata is sitting right beside him. "I'm quite impressed with the progress you've made." Igor says. You know he's probably pleased but his tone is just hard to figure out.

"Congratulations, thanks to your new interaction, you have unlocked the Sun Arcana." says Sonata as another light blue card hovers above her compendium and falls into another open page. You start to wonder if the whole book is blank just for your destiny. "You are making great progress and it's only been a few days since you moved to Ponyville. Now that you are aware of the looming threat against your world, you know what you must do to prevent it. You must fight against the fate of imprisonment. I'll be cheering you on every step of the way."

Igor smiles at you, his white teeth gleaming in the moon light. "As will I. For now, it seems that it's time for you to awake. May you make the most of your time here."

Once again, the room vanishes right before you.

"Skip ahead. It is now Wednesday."

September 8th, Wednesday
Morning

Shade's morning began like every other morning. He woke up, got his jacket, had breakfast (courtesy of Spike), washed up, and headed out to town. Today was slightly different though. Yesterday, Shade had gotten a letter from Mrs. Cheerilee. Apparently, she accepted his help. He could only work on weekdays but that was fine by him. Shade needed time to relax or fight off some shadows in Fantasia. Twilight was off at work. Her hours of cramming last night were proof that she was back at work. It only made Shade angrier to think of how royalty was viewed by Spoiled. She treated it like a luxury and a great opportunity for pampering. She had no idea what being a ruler was all about. Shade already missed her. But he knew that she had things to do. Until they could return to Fantasia, Shade knew that he should just live a normal life. Shade headed off into town. He had made sure to map out most of the town yesterday. It took nearly the whole day but it was worth it. He headed off to the school, his spirits high.

Shade headed downtown. The shops were fairly packed that day. He would've gone shopping if he had money. Shade made sure to take his mind off of distractions. He had to live in the present. Soon enough, Shade entered the school. Mrs. Cheerilee was waiting in the hallway for him. It was a relatively small school with only two or three classrooms. "I'm glad you could make it, Shade."

Shade bowed in respect. "I'm happy that you could accept my request for a job. I really need it."

"Oh, it's no problem at all." said Cheerilee. "I could use some help with taking care of the kids. More and more fillies join every year."

"I know what you mean. I'm just happy to have some work."

"Well then, I can put you in charge of playground duty." said Cheerilee. "I can't always be outside to make sure they stay safe."

"Sounds good. Mind if I just wait outside in the back? I won't cause any trouble."

"I never believed you would. The fillies should be ready in about two hours." Shade just walked over to a bench outside near the playground and waited. The weather was beautiful that day. The sky was clear and the flowers were blooming. It felt nice to gaze at the beautiful nature. He never got this kind of view in Manehattan. Central Park sure, but it didn't do this justice. There was just something more comforting about this.

A few hours later, the fillies came running out. Shade noticed the CMC were among them. He also saw Diamond Tiara and a gray filly with a silver mane standing next to her, trying to comfort her. Shade had forgotten that he needed to talk to Diamond Tiara. He had promised the CMC that he'd do that.

"Oh, hi there Shade!" came the voice of Scootaloo. She seemed to be in a hurry to meet up with him. "So, did you talk to her yet?" she asked excitedly.

"Sorry, not yet." said Shade. "Why are you so excited about it in the first place? I would think meeting your life hero would warrant this."

"Sorry, I get excited about helping other ponies. Besides, I've known my life hero for a while now."

"Who is it?"

"It's Rainbow Dash of course! Do you even know who she is?"

"I've talked with her briefly but I don't know her too well. I've heard she's a wonderbolt."

"I know! I go to all of her shows! She gets better and better every time!"

"Cool, so what did you want to talk to me about? Mrs. Cheerilee put me on playground duty so I can't spend all the time in the world with you."

"Oh, right." said Scootaloo awkwardly. "I got distracted. I just really want to hear what's wrong with Diamond Tiara. I don't have any personal problems with her, at least not anymore. I just want to help her and see what's going on."

"I'll do my best to talk with her." said Shade. "By the way, where are your other two friends? I got the impression that you guys hung out a lot."

"They're off doing some brainstorming on how to help our next few customers. Our job is helping ponies without cutie marks!" She turned to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle working on what looked like a map. "But our jobs are getting a little harder to solve these days. We need time to figure out the problems."

"You've got a point. Helping other ponies discover the destinies isn't always something you can complete in a day."

"Applebloom asked me if I could see what progress you'd made on talking with Diamond Tiara. We're pretty worried about her."

"I won't forget, Scootaloo." said Shade. "I'm free later today so I can stop by her house and ask her myself. Ponies might get suspicious if they see a stranger like me talking to her in an alley or other corner of town.

"Don't worry. I have faith you can find out her problem Shade!" said Scootaloo. "We all do."

"Hey Scootaloo!" called Applebloom. "We need your help with charting this out please!"

"Whoops, gotta go!" said Scootaloo. "Good luck Shade!" She ran off to meet up with her friends, leaving Shade to watch over the rest of the fillies on the playground.

September 8th, Wednesday
Afternoon 2:25 PM

Watching and supervising the fillies outside was easier than Shade thought. He was expecting some kids to be a bit wild or hard to control. He'd had to deal with those kinds of city fillies back in Manehattan. Was it even fair to compare Manehattan to Ponyville now? Ponies here were completely different. It wasn't a bad thing for Shade but it was taking time to get used to. It gave him some satisfaction that he had some friends to support him. In his last few homes, Shade had to deal with a lot of different ponies. Here, it felt like he could relax and just live life. At the end of his shift, Cheerilee congratulated him on his dilligence. She promised she would pay him at the end of the week.

Shade was satisfied with the work he had put in and headed off, but not before thanking Cheerilee for his job again. Shade took out the map he had drafted yesterday. He had managed to get to most of the town but he was still missing a few areas. Mapping out a whole town in a few hours wasn't an easy task. He remembered something about Spoiled Rich's actual house being a mansion. He looked over the map. He hadn't gotten to that area yet.

"Just my luck." Shade grumbled. He had figured the best place to talk to Diamond Tiara was her own home. It would make the situation a little less awkward. "Guess I'll have to wing it." said Shade. Following the roads he had mapped out and using the process of elimination to get to the house was his best bet now.

September 8th, Wednesday
two hours later

"....."

Nothing. Two hours and he'd found absolutely nothing. Shade was beginning to wonder if the mansion was buried underground or something. Either that or his sense of direction was even worse than he thought. Shade remembered getting lost a lot in Manehattan but he had managed to adjust to it because he had full scale maps. Here, every building just looked the same to him.

"..You'd think a mansion of all things would be pretty noticeable in a town like this." He said to himself. He had his face buried in the map for most of his walk and only looked up from it every 20 seconds to make sure he was going the right way. Maybe this wasn't the best tactic for navigating. Shade looked around for somepony who could help him get to the mansion. Luckily, he saw Payload walking out of the antique shop pushing out some crates.

"Hey Payload."

"Oh, hi there Shade. I was just getting some crates out for shipping. Who knew books could be this heavy?"

"Sounds stressful. I need your help with something."

"Sure, what did you want help with?"

"I'm trying to find the Rich's family mansion. Do you know if you could give me some directions to it? I've just been aimlessley wandering around so far."

"No problem. I'll get you a map with specific directions if you want."

"That might be asking too much. I don't want to interrupt your work schedule."

"Oh no, it's fine. I happen to have guide maps for all of Ponyville stashed away." Payload ran into the store and he came out with a small sheet of paper. He gave it to Shade.

"Thanks Payload." said Shade.

"Any time." Payload was about to head back to work but then Shade remembered something.

"Hey, wait. I have one more question."

"What is it this time?"

"Well, it's just that-" Shade reached into his jacket pocket to fetch the red card, but for some reason the pocket was empty.

"What?" asked Payload, confused by Shade's hesitation.

Shade was panicking on the inside. The red card was extremely important to his mission in Fantasia. If he had already lost it, who knew what could happen if he tried to get back to Fantasia?

"Um, never mind. Thanks for the directions." Suddenly, Shade felt a strange glow coming from underneath his jacket. He took a look and saw his cutie mark was flashing again. Then, a projection of his mark seemed to jump off of him and float towards the castle. Not only was this completely unexpected at a time like this, but Payload was watching the whole thing. For some reason, he wasn't as surprised as Shade thought he would be.

"Um, I've gotta go. Thanks again." Shade said quickly as he ran off in pursuit of the floating symbol. Behind him, Payload grinned.

"So it's true." he whispered to himself. "He's beginning to understand it." Paying no attention to the large crate he was supposed to be moving out, Payload walked back inside the antique shop, an emotionless look on his face. Shade hadn't seen him or heard what he had said, but if he had, his journey would've played out a little differently.

"Looks like the day will come sooner than I thought, Shade Caller."

Shade had followed his floating cutie mark all the way back to Twilight's castle. Twilight had told him that the map called them every now and then to solve friendship problems but this was the same flashing as the last few times the map allowed him to enter Fantasia. Shade still didn't understand how the map could get him to Fantasia, but he didn't have time to worry about those details now. The flashing was coming from the center of the map. Shade saw the image of his mark embed itself into the center of the map. When the light around the map cleared, Shade saw his mask in the center of the table. Then, the map Payload had given him flew out of his jacket pocket and folded into the shape of a card. Shade recognized the shape. It was exactly the same as the card Celestia had fished out of the watch Payload had given him. Shade didn't know what to say. Somehow, his mask for summoning his persona was in the real world. It was just like Celestia's experience that she had told him and Twilight about. Shade was even more surprised when the mask flipped over and seemed to 'suck in' the new card. Shade noticed that the red card which he had supposedly lost this afternoon was in the back with the new card/map. Now Shade was even more confused than before. The map had called him back to the castle to show him his persona mask? On top of that, the red card that allowed him to navigate through Fantasia was in the mask and the map he had just gotten had gotten sucked inside the mask too?

"What in the wide wide land of Equestria is going on here?" Shade wondered aloud. Nopony else was in the castle, not even Spike. The mask fell to the floor, beside Shade's hooves. He used his horns' magic to levitate it up. He looked it over a few times. The two cards were in a slot, in the side of the mask, which seemed designed to hold them. Suddenly, a huge holographic map popped up in front of him. The same droning voice as before called out to him.

"Hello there Shade. Please attach the mask to continue." Shade saw no harm in doing it. The weird voice had been right about the last few things. He put the mask on and it immediately transformed into a smaller necklace. The necklace fit perfectly around Shade's neck and had a black crest symbol in the middle of it. The voice called out to him again.

"Thank you for accepting your gift. I am Mordred, your other half." boomed the voice.

"Wait, Mordred?" asked Shade, who was more confused than ever. "How are you here and why?"

"I am here to assist and guide you as best as I can." replied Mordred. Shade couldn't see Mordred but he could tell that his persona was nearby.

"Where are you?"

"I'm inside your necklace. My powers aren't usable in the real world, so I must stay contained within the item you use to summon me in Fantasia."

"Ok, but how are you here?"

"I sensed you were in trouble so I used my few remnants of power in this world to contact you here and make sure you are staying on top of your mission."

"You mean my mission to stop the bearers of 'order'?"

"Precisely, I exist to help you in this journey. I am the other 'you' that resides inside your soul. If I cannot fight for you in this world, I can at least help guide you." A large holographic map popped up in front of Shade. It was a full view of Ponyville, with perfect quality. The best part was that the route to Diamond Tiara's home was marked to make it easier to find.

"Whoa, you can help me with navigation like this?" asked Shade.

"It would not have been possible without the new card you received today. I believe it was a map."

"The map I got from Payload?" asked Shade. "This is the second time that he's given me something that connects to Fantasia. Is this just a coincidence?"

"I cannot say that for sure." replied Mordred. "What matters now is that you have my spirit to guide you. I can help you with traveling and your tasks in this world. It is the least I can do."

"Ok, thanks a lot Mordred." said Shade. "I trust that you can help me here."

"You do not have to worry, my other half." said Mordred in a sly tone. The persona let out a slightly creepy laugh as its voice faded out.

"That was incredible." said Shade. "I have to let Twilight and Celestia know about this."

"Know about what exactly?"

Shade turned and saw Starlight standing in the doorway. "Did you see it?" he asked sheepishly.

"Saw it all." said Starlight. "Don't worry. I know how to keep secrets."

"I thought you didn't really trust me."

"Nah, I just had some suspicions that day. If Celestia and Twilight trust you, I trust you too. I just have a lot of unanswered questions."

"About me?"

"Yeah, for some reason you feel a little familiar, like I've met you before." said Starlight. "You probably just look a lot like some other pony I met back when I had my issues."

"What issues were those?" asked Shade.

"I don't want to talk about it now." said Starlight. "I get why you came back here but what were you planning to do today?"

"I was just about to head off to Diamond Tiara's house and talk to her about something." said Shade. "I'm doing it for the Cutie Mark Crusaders or CMC. You know them?"

"Of course." replied Starlight. "I've talked to them a bit before. They may just be fillies but they're pretty good with therapy. Anyway, it's nice of you to help them out. I'll just be here, studying some new spell books Twilight bought."

"Cool, see you later tonight." said Shade. Starlight waved and headed to the library. Shade grabbed his jacket and took off to get to Diamond Tiara's house. The new holographic map coming from his necklace was a huge help. It even had a symbol on it which showed exactly where he was walking. Knowing which direction he was moving in saved him from getting lost multiple times. No thanks to the hastily drawn, half done map he had put together. After only 20 minutes, he arrived at his lcoation. Shade took a deep breath in, mentally preparing himself for his discussion with her. He was mostly worried about Spoiled Rich. If she was anything like she was in Fantasia, he was going to have a 'few' issues.

Shade took a breath out and rang the bell on the side of the large gate. The mansion was pretty big and yet, it had a different feel to it than the one in Fantasia. Shade had to wait a few minutes before he got an answer. A dark tan pony with a pompadour and a suit walked up and opened the gate for him.

"Hello there. My name is Filthy Rich and who might you be?"

"My name's Shade. I assume you're Diamond Tiara's father?"

"That I am." replied Filthy Rich. "Why do you ask?"

"I came here to see if I could talk to her."

"Oh no, you're another one of 'them', aren't you?" groaned Filthy Rich. Shade was expecting him to say 'a lowly commoner', but he was surprised to find that Filthy Rich was actually a decent pony. "You're another one of those ponies that came to help with my daughter's homework, right?"

"What? No, no, I just need to talk with her, if that's okay with you."

Filthy Rich sighed in response. "Okay, how much do you want?"

"What are you talking about? I'm not that kind of pony. I just want to talk to her." Shade was puzzled by the earth pony's words.

"Sorry, I'm just so used to hearing ponies asking for my services or coming here to work. You wouldn't believe how many workers we ended up hiring lately."

"I''m not here to work for you. I just want to talk with your daughter. Its for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. You know them, right?"

"Oh, I do. I just wish my family and I could be on better terms with them." sighed Filthy Rich.

"What do you mean?" asked Shade. "Do you have a problem with them? They seem nice enough to me."

"I don't but I'd say my wife, Spoiled Rich does." said Filthy Rich, shivering a little.

"So I've heard." replied Shade.

"It's okay. You can come in and talk to her. Just please don't be too harsh on her. The poor filly hasn't been doing well lately."

"I understand. I don't intend to interrogate her or anything like that. I just need to ask her a few questions."

"Well, don't let me stop you. Just be careful around Spoiled." advised Filthy Rich. "She hasn't been very friendly lately."

"Thanks Filthy Rich." said Shade. Even if he'd seen a similiar place in Fantasia, Shade couldn't help admiring the layout and design of the house. It felt like more than one pony contributed to the design, unlike the other one he'd seen. Filthy Rich led him down a long hallway of paintings and sculptures to Diamond Tiara's room.

"Go ahead."

"Thanks, I won't take up too much of her time." said Shade. Filthy Rich knocked on the door.

"Diamond, you have a visitor." The door creaked open and the earth pony peaked outside.

"Umm, who are you?" she asked in an irritated tone. It sounded like she was addressing to a romantic rival.

'Oh boy, this may take longer than I wanted it to.' thought Shade. He could tell just by listening to her tone of speech that she wanted to stay cooped up in her room alone.

"My name's Shade. I just came to talk with you about something." said Shade, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. Where was he supposed to begin with her?

"That's what you came here for?" asked Diamond. She wasn't exactly thrilled that a complete stranger wanted to talk with her personally. "I've never even met you before. Why would you want to just talk with me in my home?"

"Please sweetheart, Mr. Shade just wanted to speak with you about some things." pleaded Filthy Rich. "He doesn't mean you any harm."

"I didn't say that, dad!" snapped Diamond. "Who are you anyway and why do you want to talk?"

"I..I'm the playground supervisor at your school. Mrs. Cheerilee hired me."

"..Doesn't ring a bell."

Shade groaned. "Never mind, I just came to talk with you. The Cutie Mark Crusaders have a few questions for you. I just wanted to help them out."

"So those fillies decided to send a messenger?" growled Diamond. "Why can't they leave me alone?! Nothing's wrong with me!"

"Come on, they want to help you." said Shade. He put a hoof over her head. "I do too."

"That's right, sweetheart." added Filthy Rich. "Just please at hear him out. He came here just to talk with you."

"Alright, just come on in." sighed Diamond Tiara. She opened the door all the way and let Shade inside. "Oh, and dad, no listening in on her conversation." she added, poking her head out one more time to remind Filthy Rich not to listen in on anything. Obeying his daughter's words, the well dressed pony left to go downstairs. Shade stepped inside. The room was filled with tons of elaborate jewelry and items Shade assumed were too expensive for ordinary ponies. The room gave off the vibe of a spoiled hoarder. Diamond Tiara gestured to a chair in the room. She sat on her bed and Shade took a seat.

"So what do you want to ask me?" Shade hesitated for a little, trying to think of the best way to start the conversation so it didn't come off as too direct.

"The CMC are pretty worried about you." said Shade. "They seem to think you aren't 'yourself' these days. They think something's wrong with you. Could you talk to me about that?"

"I don't what you mean!" snapped Diamond, rising up as if she had been provoked by Shade's question. "I'm doing fine! Just tell them to leave me alone!"

"Please, tell me what's going on." said Shade. "I observed you at recess today. You looked upset."

"It's not your business!!" she yelled. "Why would you listen to those three anyway?! They snoop around in other ponies' business all the time!"

"Please, you have to calm down."

"Don't act like you know me!" she cried out. "You don't need to know!"

"But that proves you are hiding something that you don't want to talk about." said Shade. "I don't even know the CMC that well, but they seem pretty nice. They make it their job to help other ponies, including you. I'm just giving them a helping hoof by talking to you."

"I just don't want to tell them about it!! I won't tell you!" the earth pony cried out, a few tears streaming down her face. "Please, stop asking me about it!"

"I need to know!" Shade said firmly. "They need to know!" He calmed down a little. "We want to help you!"

"Forget it!" wailed Diamond. "None of you should even care about my personal life! I won't tell you! I can be silent!"

"Please, trust me. I need to know. They need to know." said Shade, in a much calmer tone. He was trying his best to speak gently but it wasn't easy when the filly was pushing him back so much.

Diamond Tiara sniffed a little. Shade levitated a box of tissues over to her. She took a few and blew her nose. "What proof do you have anyway? You don't know if I have a problem or not. Yet you put all your trust in those three?"

"Of course." replied Shade. "And I trust that you can be honest and tell me what's been going on with you." Diamond Tiara snickered at this remark.

"You don't know them..You don't know me..Just.please.." Diamond whispered.

"Now I know you're hiding something." said Shade. "And it's obviously something you're not comfortable talking about. But I'm here to listen. I won't judge you and I won't tell anypony else except the CMC. They don't seem like the type to gossip. So please?"

"I have a right to be silent." said Diamond Tiara weakly. She wasn't even speaking confidently anymore. She just sounded tired. She was obviously trying to hide something and she looked like she was doing everything in her power to stop Shade from getting the answer out of her.

Before Shade could ask her again, his persona necklace began to glow a light tone of green. The room became bathed in green light from the necklace. Shade and Diamond Tiara had to block their eyes from the light. When Shade cleared his sight, the same luxury filled room was no longer there. Instead, he saw a room with an eery glow of red. It was odd because this was the same color lighting that Shade had seen in Fantasia. Shade reached out to touch his chair he was just sitting in but his hoof went right through it.

"What is this?" Shade wondered to himself as he continued to feel around for objects. Nothing he touched was solid. Not even the floor, which felt more like he had gained the ability to walk on a half made cloud. In front of him, he saw Diamond Tiara, except she was chained up to the floor.

"Now we can investigate her thoughts from here." came the voice of Mordred.

"Mind telling me what's going on here?" asked Shade.

"Relax, this isn't Fantasia. It's just an image of Diamond Tiara's inner conscience. From here, it will be easier to find out her problems." replied the persona.

"Why does that sound effective but also kind of wrong?"

"Believe me, it's perfectly safe."

"Mother, why?!" Diamond Tiara screamed out. The chains around her were somehow shocking her body. She was writhing in agony.
Shade was mortified by the sight of the poor filly in anguish right in front of him, but all he could respond with was an annoyed groan. "What were you saying again?" he asked Mordred.

"Nothing that happens here is actually real." said Mordred. "It's an image of Diamond's inner thoughts. My, she seems to feel quite beaten down."

"Why does this look like something from Fantasia?"

"I'll explain later." answered Mordred. "I projected this image here for you to make it easier to find out her problems that she's buried."

"What can I even work with in here?" asked Shade. "All I see is that she's a prisoner being tortured. At least, that's what it looks like."

"Exactly, if this is a view of her inner self, then what does that say about how she's feeling?" Shade began to piece the thoughts together in his head. It was unpleasant imagery, to say the least, but it seemed to be emphasizing the fact that Diamond Tiara wasn't happy with her life here. He had also heard her scream about her mother. Did she have something to do with this?

"What are you waiting for? Go talk to her."

Shade obeyed and walked towards the bound up Diamond. A look of fear appeared on her face as Shade approached her. "What are you doing? What do you want?" she asked tearfully.

Shade didn't even answer this time. He just walked towards her and looked over her, trying to figure out where to start with unravelling her secret. "I can't even speak normally here." Shade said to himself, irritated. "If this world is based around her inner self and hidden feelings, exposing it to her in the real world would just sound crazy."

"Are you going to speak with her or not?" asked Mordred.

"I..don't think I should just yet." said Shade. He had been watching over the cognitive version of Diamond Tiara for some time. She wasn't even making eye contact with him. All she was seen doing was struggling to escape from her chains. It didn't even seem like she knew he was there anymore. Then, the image around Shade vanished and he was right back in the room with Diamond Tiara. This time, she was lying down, seemingly unconscious.

"What in the name of Celestia happened to her?!" exclaimed Shade, just noticing the filly's slumped body on the floor.

"Relax, she's not dead. She's just unconscious. She should wake up in about 10 minutes....I think"

Shade was starting to sweat now. If any of her parents came into the room and saw their daughter in this state, who knew what they'd assume?

"I think you're kind of missing the point here!" snapped Shade, annoyed at his persona for his inability to understand his predicament.

"Am I?" chuckled Mordred. "If so, what will you do?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Just a simple one. You must think these things through if you wish to stop the bearers of 'order'." said Mordred, his voice growing softer and almost robotic.

"Are you two almost done in there?" came the voice of Filthy Rich from outside the room. Shade began to sweat even harder.

"Just give me a minute please. I'm almost done!" he called out. Without thinking too hard, he ran over to a desk, borrowed a pen, tore out a sheet of paper from a nearby notebook, wrote a message as quickly as he could, and laid it down on the chair he had sat in. "Don't know about you, but I'm leaving for now and coming back when I've boosted my social skills and charm level." he whispered sharply to Mordred.

"Tartaros knows you need it." snorted Mordred. "You have all the swagger of an exhausted cat."

"Gee, thanks. Not like you helped me out too much in there except conjure up another image of nightmares for me to remember."

"My pleasure." All Shade could do was let out yet another frustrated groan. He seemed to be doing that a lot today. Despite being a part of him, his persona could be quite the wisecracker.

"Are you almost done?" called Filthy Rich. "Spoiled is coming home soon and she doesn't like seeing my daughter with 'lesser' ponies."

"Yeah, I am." replied Shade. "I'll just exit from here to save you some trouble." With that, Shade opened up the window and lept out. Thankfully, there were some bushes below to catch his fall.

"Smooth. Real smooth." said Mordred in what seemed like the most sweetly sarcastic tone he could muster.

"Must you loudly scoff at my inability to convince a filly to talk with me?" asked Shade, annoyed. "She was stubborn. Once I build up my charm, I think I'll have a better chance at talking to her."

"Good, but right now, you should just go about your normal life here," said Mordred. "I'll stay inside your necklace and give you some guidance along the way, my other half." The dark cloud surrounding Shade returned back inside the center of his necklace. Shade decided it was best for him to return the townsquare and just take the day off. He had been running around, stressing about Fantasia and its secrets for the past few days. He figured he could just look around and buy some things for his room. Ponyville did seem to have some interesting antiques and items he could put in the castle room for now. Despite the fact he had only been living there for less than a week, Shade felt like he had developed a real sense of home from the castle. Not that he was feeling more entitled now but the place had really grown on him. He wasn't even spending much time there. He only went there to get food and sleep. He didn't ask for anything extra.

Shade was just heading out when he caught sight of a magenta earth pony walking up to the gate of the mansion. She was walking with the kind of entitled strut you'd expect from upper class snobs. Shade decided it would be best to avoid her. He ducked behind some bushes and did his best to sneak by, but he couldn't make to the walls without making a loud rustling noise. Spoiled turned to see him hastily trying to escape unnoticed.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked Shade in a condescending tone.

"I'm just passing through. I, um, just needed to ask Diamond something..." Shade stammered, fighting for words. Then he realized what he had just hastily blurted out. Though he couldn't see him, Shade could just sense Mordred slapping his face in frustration. He wanted to face hoof himself, but that would only make the situation even more awkward. Yet, inside he couldn't help but laugh at his hasty move. Spoiled, on the other hoof, didn't look amused in the slgihtest.

"What business does a commoner pony have here with my family?" asked Spoiled, annoyed with the fact that there was a stranger that had apparently wanted to talk with her own daughter. "She is none of your concern. Only my own. Now please leave and do not return unless you have something actually important you need to discuss with us."

'Is that supposed to be a polite way of speaking?' Shade thought to himself angrily. She was unbearable in Fantasia, but Spoiled wasn't exactly pleasant to be around in the real world either. Shade had seen enough of the Fantasia version of Spoiled to detest her with a passion. However, he minded his manners and just walked away to the gate without another word. Spoiled just snorted and strutted back inside. Even the way she carried herself was snooty.

"That..was a waste. I didn't learn anything about what could be bothering Diamond Tiara."

"Not entirely true." came Mordred's eery tone again. "Didn't you notice something odd about the image I sent you?"

"Yeah, it showed a cognition of Diamond chained to the floor, crying for help just like the other ponies in Fantasia." replied Shade. "Aside from a few indications that she feels imprisoned here, I don't have enough details about what could be wrong with her."

"You can always ask somepony else about her," suggested Mordred. "In the meantime, I'll just go back in and rest for a little."

Shade gave a deep sigh. He didn't even know whether having his persona in constant communication with him was good or bad. He was already exhausted from trying to talk to the thick headed filly. More alternate world magic and exploring Fantasia were the last things he wanted to delve into today. He decided to just grab a quick bite to eat, head back home, and go to bed. "I may have found a new home, but stress levels aren't getting any smaller here than they used to."

September 9th, Thursday
Afternoon

"Howdy there, Shade!" It was Applejack. She was just hauling a large wagon of produce as Shade rounded the corner. "How's your time here going?"

"Great, thanks," replied Shade. "I just finished my job at the school. Those fillies aren't too hard to look after during recess."

"Well, it's mighty kind of you to offer your help there." said Applejack. "How's my sister doing? You having any problems with her?"

"No, but why do you ask?"

"Sorry, I just assumed that since you're still kinda new here, her over-enthusiasm would rub you the wrong way."

"Her personality never bothered me that much. Does that happen sometimes?"

"Yeah, she's just been so desperate looking for other ponies to help these days." said Applejack, smiling at just the thought of her little sister all grown up and actively looking for ponies in need. "She's almost always hanging out with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, so much that I barely see her at all during the day."

"She seems pretty busy."

"She sure is. I'm so proud of her." The orange pony blushed a little, thinking about her sister. "I'm glad you're getting along with her and the others."

"They're a fun bunch," said Shade. A thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Say, I heard that the three of them are struggling with one of their clients." He tried to keep it subtle, because he didn't know how Applejack would react to the statement at first. If he came off as somepony who knew too much, that would make him sound suspicious

Applejack frowned a little at this statement. "You mean Diamond Tiara? Quite frankly, I'm not the least bit surprised. That filly used to be so much trouble for my sister. She was a real rotten apple back then."

"So I've heard. I tried to talk to her about what could be bugging her, but she was pretty stubborn and wouldn't listen."

"Even after my sister and the others befriended her, that filly can still be as stubborn as a mule." Applejack looked around after saying the sentence. "Hmmm, guess he ain't here today."

"Who?"

"Never mind, it doesn't really matter." said Applejack. "I was just strolling around here to drop off a few deliveries. Fancy meeting you here."

"It was nice to see you too." said Shade. "I was just going to head off to see your sister and her friends at their clubhouse, if you're okay with me seeing them that is."

"Of course I am! I think it's great that you're making friends with my sister so quickly. She seems to like having you around."

"Cool," said Shade happily. Before leaving Applejack, he decided to ask her a question. "Oh, one more thing, if you have the time."

"Sure, I ain't got a huge time limit on these deliveries," the farm pony replied. "What did you want to know?"

"I hope this doesn't really come off the wrong way," said Shade. "But do you know anything about Diamond Tiara that could help me find out her possible problem?"

"Not really, I guess she's just kind of nicer now. I always remembered her most for being a bully to my sister, but now that she's reformed, I don't have to worry about her nearly as much." AJ hesitated to think for a few seconds. "Although, her family has been doing business with my family since the founding of Ponyville and her family owns a few shops across Equestria."

"Across Equestria?"

"They're pretty rich, I know, but I'd give my left hind leg if I said that her family wasn't faithful in their business with the Apple family." said Applejack. "And that's kinda the best info I can give you on her. A lot's changed since my sister got her cutie mark."

"Well, thanks anyway," said Shade, happy to at least know some of the history behind Ponyville. "I just really want to help them."

"I understand." said Applejack. "I reckon I should get going now. See ya some other time, Shade!"

Shade felt a sense of satisfaction from that interaction with AJ, like he had gained something important from it, besides just a little info on Diamond Tiara in the past and her family's business with the Apple family. He felt like he'd possibly gained another friend. With positive thoughts on his mind, Shade headed off to the CMC's tree house.

"You still haven't found anything?!" asked Scootaloo. "Can't you just do a simple-" She was cut off by Sweetie Belle who had to cover her mouth to make sure she didn't spout out anything rude.

"Sorry, what we meant to ask," she gave Scootaloo the stink eye, "was why you were having so much trouble. Is she not talking to you or something?"

"Pretty much sums it up." groaned Shade. "I just can't talk to her properly. If only I had something I could use to make her talk."

"Now you make it sound you're going into an interrogation." commented Sweetie Belle.

"Sometimes, I see you getting a little too 'energetic' when you're handling stubborn ponies." said Applebloom. "Y'all know what I mean, right?" Scootaloo nodded, Sweetie Belle just ignored it, but Shade was afraid to ask what that meant. He'd already had an unsettling interaction with Sweetie Belle on his first day. He knew she was joking, but she almost seemed to have a dark side to her otherwise polite and friendly personality.

"Again guys, I'm really sorry that I can't get any info out of her," Shade apologized. "I won't give up though. I promise."

"You mean it?" asked Scootaloo, her attitude changing when she heard Shade's words of generosity and strength. Shade nodded. At this, Applebloom ran up to Shade and gave him a hug.

"Thanks so much!" she cried out. "Nopony's ever been this devoted to helping us!"

"Alright, alright, it's okay. You don't have to cry."

"I'm not! I'm just real happy that you care so much about helping us!" said Applebloom. "You're pretty great, Shade." Shade stroked the back of his head, a little embarrassed by Applebloom patronizing him.

"We really appreciate your help, Shade." said Sweetie Belle. "Just don't go too far with it, please?" Scootaloo nodded in approval. Shade didn't need to hear her say anything to know that she trusted him.

"Thanks guys. I won't let you down." said Shade. At least, he hoped he could keep his promise to them.

"So, how did your first week in Ponyville go?" Twilight asked Shade across the dinner table. She had gotten home from her work early that day and had managed to join her friend for dinner at home. Spike was also sitting at the table, just listening to the two ponies talk.

"It's been pretty good." replied Shade. "I've had some trouble with helping the CMC though."

"You mean with Diamond Tiara?" asked Twilight. Shade nodded.

"She's impossible to talk to. Every time I tried to get her to tell me her problem, she jus refused and turned away."

"She's actually a nice filly once you get to know her history a little more." said Twilight.

"I can believe that part. I just don't know why she's so stubborn about telling me the truth. It's like she's hiding some huge secret she doesn't want me to know about."

"Who knows? She might feel threatened that somepony she doesn't even know is trying to extract personal info from her," commented Spike. "No offense to you or anything, Shade."

"None taken, but she seemed to be okay with talking to me at first. She suddenly got reluctant to speak when I asked about what was bothering her lately."

"I don't know what could be going on either." said Twilight. "I can't really imagine a filly as lucky as her to be having emotional problems. I remember her getting past all that when the CMC helped her find her place."

"She does live in a huge mansion with a ton of luxuries and she has more friends now." said Spike. "I'm sorry Shade, but I don't see what could be wrong with her either."

"It's a mystery to be sure." said Shade, taking another bite of his hayburger. "Although, it would help if you gave me some more info on Diamond Tiara's past life, Twilight."

"I don't know too much, but I know she was a bully back then." began Twilight. "She only had one friend and she spent a lot of time bragging about herself. Even I almost gave up on finding a redeemable quality in her, until the day she lost the class president election."

Shade stopped eating for a moment. "What happened that day?"

"Well, Sweetie Belle told me the story, but apparently, Diamond was trained by her mother to act the way she did." Spike shuttered at the memories of the obnoxious mare.

"Diamond was pretty cruel, but who woud've thought there was somepony pulling her strings the whole time?" he said.

"I was surprised too," added Twilight. "But her mother was in control of her for some time, until Diamond actively rebelled against her and found out her true purpose in life."

"And that was?"

"Telling other ponies what to do." sighed Twilight. "It sounds selfish, but it's a power that lets her control her own life. It helps her move forward without being controlled by somepony else. She realized this all when the CMC helped her."

"We know that her mother is still pretty despicable," said Shade. "But if Diamond's cutie mark represents her ability to control other ponies, she shouldn't really have a problem with her mother again, right?"

"It's possible, but you're right. It doesn't seem likely, unless her mother has even more dominance over her than before."

"Are you suggesting that she's stronger now and has gone back to controlling Diamond?" asked Spike. Shade and Twilight turned to him.

"Wow, I never even considered that." he remarked. "I just assumed that she had some sense of care towards her daughter. Filthy Rich even seemed like a nice guy."

"Oh, he is." said Twilight. "He's the complete opposite of Spoiled. It leaves you to wonder why he married her in the first place."

"We may have to chalk that possiblity up for debate." said Shade. "But other than that, we don't have enough decisive evidence to really understand what's going on with Diamond Tiara."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Shade jumped at the sudden voice of Mordred. "You still have that image I showed you, right?"

"Who the heck was that?" asked Twilight, also startled by the voice.

"You can hear it too?"

"I guess so, but what is it?"

"I see," Mordred chuckled. "It appears other persona users can see and hear me. Well, I shall introduce myself, princess." A shadowy figure shot out of Shade's necklace and appeared in the room. Twilight was so surprised at first that she fell backwards in her chair. Spike was so scared by the shadow that he lept out of his seat and hid under the table. Twilight took about a few seconds to recover.

"I-I-Is that your persona?" she stammered. "Why is it here?" Spike was still hiding under the table.

"I don't know. He just said he'll be here to help me." Twilight calmed down after hearing Shade's words.

"It's so strange though. This is really similiar to how Celestia described her encounter with her persona."

"Kind of, but for some reason, mine just rests in this necklace here," said Shade, holding out the piece of jewelry around his neck. Twilight looked over the necklace, examining it closely.

"Odd, it looks similiar to one of the necklaces from the Elements of Harmony," remarked the purple allicorn. "What are the chances of that?" Spike peaked out from under the tablecloth.

"So, does that mean it's safe to come out?" Twilight giggled at Spike's overreaction.

"Yes Spike. This is what we were talking with Celestia about, remember?" Spike breathed a sigh of relief and crawled out of his hiding spot.

"Sorry if that came off the wrong way. I've just never seen anything like it before."

"Quite frankly, no other pony has," said Shade. "We had the same reaction when I first summoned him in Fantasia, somehow. I still don't know how I got this power."

"Me neither," said Twilight. "But I've been thinking about some reasons behind it for these past few days. I even did extra studying and research with the source materials Celestia gave me."

"She gave you more info?"

"Yep, her persona is pretty amazing. I've been able to get past details about Fantasia that we talked about before."

"Considering Twilight's study habits before and even now, you should get used to hearing her talk about reviewing info a lot," said Spike, portraying that he'd seen this a million times before and was just used to it now.

"Did you find out any new info about our target in Fantasia?" asked Shade. Twilight sadly shook her head.

"Sorry, but keep in mind that this is a type of magic that was lost to the records of time for centuries. Only Celestia's persona knows the answers, and not even all of Fantasia's secrets for that matter."

"But doesn't that seem a little odd?" Twilight continued. "I mean, I get how Celestia could get her persona, but it doesn't make sense how it would just happen to know all this info! Have you guys ever thought of that?"

Spike stared up from his comic book and just shrugged. It wasn't like he would know much about the situation. Shade just brushed it off too. "I don't intend for you to think I'm not taking this seriously, but it never really crossed my mind. These 'personas' came from a source of magic that's been lost to the winds of time for ages now. Is it really reasonable to question the extent of their powers?" Twilight paused, taken back by Shade's thoughtful, yet calm response to her question.

"I guess we shouldn't worry too much about something like that," said Twilight, finding new comfort in Shade's words. "If her persona knows about that place, we should spend less time worrying about the origins ourselves and use the abilities it has to the best of our ability."

Spike was only listening to about half the conversation as he kept his nose buried in his comic book, but he could still hear Twilight. It made him happy to hear his owner handling problems in a strategic way and not just freaking out and cramming late at night, like she often did when princess Celestia gave her another 'test'. Spike was all for being prepared, but in his years with Twilight, he'd learnt a thing or two about overkill. "Glad to hear you're not freaking out over this," he remarked. Twilight shot him a slightly annoyed look, to which Spike responded by only looking back inside his comic.

"Anyways," sighed the purple allicorn. "As long as your persona can partially exist in this world too, we can stay up to date on Fantasia and its whereabouts." In response to her statement, the shadow of Mordred slithered over to Twilight and extended a finger torwards her chin.

"I've always been here," replied Mordred in a voice that sounded disturbingly soft. No matter what mood the persona was in, Shade always found it gave off a misleading sinister tone. "I was faintly calling out to Shade to give me a vessel for me to stay in. My physical form can't last in this world, so I merely gave some faint cries for help to him, and now I rest with him."

"That's..great..I guess?"

"Don't feel too uncomfortable in my presence. I seek only to serve my master, nothing more." With that, Mordred made one final gesture with his hand and vanished back inside Shade's necklace.

"I know he's a part of me, but I hope he doesn't come popping out too often."

"Yeah, imagine how awkward it would be if you were in the middle of town, he came out to speak with you, and nopony else could see him."

"Actually, I had a close call with that, one time, but that happened about three or four days ago."

"So, what were you planning on doing today anyways?" asked Twilight. "Should we inflitrate Fantasia and see if we can make more progress on traversing the palace?" Shade raised an eye, considering Twilight's suggestion.

"You know what? Yeah, it wouldn't hurt to dive in and look through the palace today," he replied. "I don't have much else to do right now and there's something I need to figure out."

"Alright then. Let's go!" Twilight took out her own necklace and put a pulse of her own magic through it. The necklace radiated with purple light and in response, the map table lit up. With one final nod, Twilight and Shade climbed up onto the table, right beneath the bell portal, and waved to Spike.

"Wait, Twilight! I forgot to ask you something!" called Spike. "What do I do about the-"

Twilight and Shade were gone long before he could finish his sentence.

To be continued.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I had a busy few weeks and a long break. Anyway, I'm still alive and hopefully I'll be able to post these chapters more frequently now. I've really been trying to post these but I always keep getting new ideas or concepts that I want to put in. I've planned the next 25 chapters or so. It's going to be fun getting my ideas out online.

I decided to make this chapter a little more mellow. I need to do a few "slice of life" chapters every now and then. I aim to have something for every fan of MLP here. Just not the haters. I don't do well with that. Next chapter should be a little bigger. I plan to have a new persona awaken next chapter. I just "need to keep in mind my pacing" (Art of the Dress quote). I hope I can get some fan art of the character's personas on deviantart later.

Thank you for all the people viewing and supporting this project. It really helps me out. By the way, if any of you can get some other bronies like RarityDash, Applegeek, or BlankSlate to read this, I'd really appreciate it. I aim to please. See you guys next time!