Author's Note

For the record, you're not seeing a typo in the title. I've decided to scrap the previous Persona story I did and do something completely new. It has similarities to 5 but again I've never played 5 so any major similarities are purely coincidental. But consider it 5 with the mystery of 4 and a little of 3 sprinkled in here and there.

~~Also whoever did that cover art is just damn amazing.~~

Life Will Change

It has often been said that every story has a happy ending, an ending where the hero prevails over the villain with the support of their friends. This is not one of those stories. In ways, this story tells how life sucks and you’re dealt the cards given to you and if you don’t like that, too bad.

This is a story about how it’s you against the world and even when you have friends on your side, the world doesn’t give a fuck. This is Sunset Shimmer’s story and there are no heroes in this one. Not in her mind anyway.

Up until a certain point, Sunset didn’t think life had turned out all that bad for her. She was going to school, lived in the big city and stayed out of trouble when she could avoid it. Of course, that all changed on a dime.

One night she was returning home late from working on a project at a classmate’s house.Perhaps it had been a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, despite going down this road so many times in the past, but someone was waiting for her.

The guy had to be at least twice her age and he looked like the type of guy that specifically went after younger girls. At first, he was trying to be polite, flirty towards her but Sunset was quick to shoot him down, seeing through his bullshit immediately and wishing she had brought something with her to defend herself.

He didn’t like that, and his immediate response was to tackle her to the ground and instead force himself on her. He made two mistakes in that moment. First, he was dumb enough to believe that catching her off guard would give him any advantage. Second, he thought she would lie still and take it.

The end result was him having his nose broken and getting kicked in the nuts so hard she was sure he was going to need them removed. That should’ve been the end of it; he should’ve just run off like the coward he was and never be seen again. But life decided to throw a curveball at her.

As it turned out, the creep was some big executive of a major company and apparently getting the shit beat out of him by a girl hurt his ego rather well. The next morning, he was pressing charges against her for assault against him and the police were at her house early in the morning before Sunset left for school.

Naturally, Sunset explained her side of the story: that the bastard assaulted her because he wanted a quickie (with her parents there, it wasn’t quite how she put it but they all got the right idea). Admittedly, even the cops were skeptical, not because the story sounded sketchy but mostly because they had a hard time believing a girl of her stature could even take on a guy of his size.

With that, the charges were dropped against her though the police apparently weren’t going to open an investigation, much to her parents’ disbelief. Mr. Executive wasn’t satisfied with this and threatened to sue for damages. Perhaps he was bluffing but at this rate it didn’t matter.

The damage had already been done. The story had gained a lot of traction around Manehattan and Sunset was suddenly looked at in a different light. Even worse, her parents had gotten a call from the school saying that due to recent events, the school board had decided to expel Sunset from the Manehattan School District. While she couldn’t prove it, Sunset had a feeling someone up top got paid off a handsome amount.

There was one silver lining: while she had been expelled, the board had decided that she could attend school in another district or city, though said school would be well aware of her situation. In other words, “You make one mishap and you’re done for good.” Through all of this, Sunset was most pissed off not because she had been expelled but because the bastard who started all of this got away scot free. Just how important are you if not even the police want to mess with you?

Her parents decided to go with the only choice they had, though they were far from giving up. “We’re going to fight this until the end,” her dad said. “I have a friend who’s a lawyer and I’m sure he’ll be able to help us. Until then, you just focus on school and…please try not to get into trouble. At least her parents didn’t think she was a complete failure.

A week after, once calls had been made, Sunset was heading to a dorm in Canterlot, where she’d be attending school for the rest of the year. It was smaller than Manehattan but overall the environment was a lot more appealing than the stickup assholes she’d been used to dealing. The dorm was where she’d be living and thankfully it was a girl’s only dorm. Thankfully, the person in charge sounded sympathetic about all that happened so that was a start.

Finally, early Sunday morning, Sunset said goodbye to her parents before boarding the train to Canterlot. Despite her parents’ pleas, she could only afford a slight smile which meant she made no promises about keeping out of trouble: trouble seemed to come her way almost always.

Sunset glanced at her phone as she was listening to music. It was almost ten o’clock, meaning she had another half hour before the train reached its destination. She laid her head back in her chair and felt her eyes close and before she knew it she had fallen asleep.

She opened her eyes again and noticed immediately something was off. The seats that had been occupied were now vacant and everything was in darkness, save for a blue hue that covered the entire car. As it turned out, she wasn’t alone as two figures were now in front of her, an older man in a chair and the other a woman who stood next to him. The man was wearing a dark suit and his combination of a large nose, bloodshot eyes, and a large grin gave him a very unnerving appearance.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” the man said in a surprisingly light voice. “Do not be alarmed, you are currently asleep. The Velvet Room is a realm between your unconscious and subconscious. But you’re probably wondering why you’re here? As it turns out, you’re a special guest, meaning that you and only you can come here. But enough of that. It seems much has happened in a short amount of time for you.”

How he knew that, Sunset had no idea. She wasn’t sure what to make of it but at the same time she couldn’t help but listen.

“The truth is that you’ve been wronged for a crime you did not commit and naturally you are upset…but how will you respond? Revenge? Or perhaps…perhaps it has only opened your eyes to the bigger picture.” The man chuckled. “Ah, but where are my manners? I’ve forgotten to introduce myself. I am Igor and you may consider me your guide on this new adventure you’re ready to embark on. Perhaps another time we will discuss this in more detail, for time grows short.

“But for now, what I can tell you is that contained inside you is a power that few possess and over time it will grow, making you stronger, strong enough for the challenges ahead. I must say I’m quite curious how this will all turn out. Now then, it’s time to properly introduce my assistant Moonlight.”

The girl in question was dressed in blue and had blue hair that almost matched, but it was her yellow eyes that really stood out. She then took out a deck of cards and spread them across the table. “The arcana is the means by which all is revealed…” She then picked a card and turned it over. “Hmm…yes, The Fool. The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge he sealed his fate…entrusting his future to the cards. The number 0 can mean nothing…but can also mean infinite possibilities. There’s no doubt about it now…you possess what is known as the Wild Card.”

Igor chuckled with amusement. “Very direct she is. Unfortunately, our time is growing short. We will meet again soon and much more will be discussed. For now, you must return to your realm. I bid you farewell…”

Sunset suddenly woke up and as she looked around, she quickly saw everything was as it was before. She rubbed her eyes slightly, trying to make sense of what she had just experienced. Was it a dream? And what exactly were they all foreshadowing? She decided to wave it off for now.

It wasn’t long before someone came over the intercom, announcing their arrival at Canterlot. Sunset took a look outside the window and she could immediately see that Canterlot hardly compared to Manehattan at all, at least in size. Yet, she seemed alright with that.

Once the train came to a complete stop, she grabbed her bags and headed into the station. She had the directions for the dorm on her phone and luckily it was within walking distance. It was just after one o’clock but even with the rest of the day still ahead of her, she didn’t have any further plans.

It took only about fifteen minutes to get over to the dorm but as she got closer, Sunset was starting to think she had set her expectations too high. The building looked to be at least twenty years old, which wasn’t a bad thing per say but… As long as it has decent wifi I can’t complain…

As soon as she may her way inside she was instantly greeted by a rather enthusiastic woman who, judging by her voice, had to be the same person on the phone.

“It’s so good to see you Sunset,” the woman beamed, who looked to be in her mid to late twenties. “My name is Cadence and I’m the RA of this dorm. Your parents told me everything that happened and its horrible what they did.”

“Thanks, but it’s fine,” Sunset replied, forcing a smile. “We’ll get this figured out.”

“I sure hope so,” Cadance said. “My aunt - she’s actually the principal of Canterlot High - she’s a no nonsense kind of person but she wouldn’t expel someone just because it would threaten her image. But that’s just me spouting nonsense. Anyway, I have your room set up so here’s your key. You’ll be fine being by yourself?”

“Yeah, it’s probably for the best,” Sunset said. Considering she was in a new city and would be attending a new school tomorrow, social interaction wasn’t at the top of her list to-dos right now.

“Anyway, I can tell you want me out of your hair so I’ll let you go,” Cadance continued. “Your room is on the second floor and I’m on the third so if you need any questions my door is always open. And don’t worry about the noise, there’s not too many students here at the moment so it should be relatively quiet for the most point. And in case I forget to mention it, welcome to Canterlot High.”

Once Sunset was upstairs (thankfully there was an elevator because the stairs were bigger than she had thought), she made her way towards her room, unlocking the door and opening it for the first time. The room itself was big enough for one, with a bed and desk set up for her along with a closet and a set of drawers. She was tempted to just crash onto the bed but decided to at least put her clothes away and set up her laptop.

Once that was finished, she sat on her bed, looking through the schedule that was given her. Nine periods a day with lunch during the middle of the day. She wondered how different the school would be, in terms of appearance, environment and the students in general. Considering what she had put up with in Manehattan, it couldn’t be any worse.

She spent the rest of the day in her room, either surfing the internet on her computer or reading a book. She didn’t have a TV but luckily she could stream shows through her phone. Once it started to get late, she decided to take a shower in the restrooms just two doors down before tucking herself in and turning in early. A lot was on her mind but Sunset tried to be optimistic.

Things will change…