Persona: The Cognitive World (P3 Route)

by NitroTHedgehog

Rating: mature
Tags: Main 6, Gore, Original Character, Persona, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Profanity, Violence, Crossover, Death
Length: 21056

The Female Protagonist of P3P moves to Ponyville after the events of Persona 3 7 years prior, but runs into some trouble.

(Protagonist is female, and I decided to name her similar to Makoto Yuki, the name of the P3 MC in the anime, since the FMC isn't canon.)

24-year-old Mikata Yuki (結城三方) saved the world from Nyx 7 years prior (2010 in-game). Now, after all her friends have fully recovered from the madness, and all have graduated, she decides to move to the more quaint town of Ponyville to escape Tatsumi Port Island, where her parents died in an incident 17 years prior. But, when she arrives, another incident, similar to the Dark Hour, but somewhat different, occurs. Now, uniting with Yu Narukami (鳴上 悠) and his Inaba Investigation Team, they try to save the world yet again.

Honestly, though. Trouble seems to follow me wherever I go.

End of game spoilers for Persona 3 (kinda)

Persona 4 Spoilers

Events after S8 Premire

Kinda like Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

Persona 4 Arena/Arena Ultimax/BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (is this even canon?) didn't happen here.

Atlus/SEGA © Shin Megami Tense: Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Hasbro © My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Published 2018-06-12 17:50:06 UTC
Last updated 2018-10-26 16:14:56 UTC

4/8: Welcome to Ponyville, Mikata Yuki!

Time never waits. Burn My Dread. Through the life you lead, we all will not survive. Live life to the fullest. Yes. Friends. It delivers all equally to the same end.

You, who wish to safeguard the future, Burn My Dread. Through the life you lead, we all will not survive. You. Live. however limited it may be...

You will be given one year;

Go forth without falter, Burn My Dread. Through the life you lead, we all will not survive. Live life to the fullest. So go.with your heart as your guide...

Heavy breathing...

I look around, my vision blurry. I’m barely clinging on to life. I don’t see my friends. Right. I left them behind. I look forward and look in the... Net? It’s housing a golden egg, shimmering like the moon.

It fires an energy blast and knocks me down once again. I thought I died.

Then, I hear them. Their prayers. Everyone whom I’ve met. Every single time that... Thing fires at me, I get knocked down, but I always get back up. Eventually, the blasts did nothing to me but be a minor annoyance.

Then, I heard something I’d thought I’d never hear.

“Listen to me, Mikata. Summon the courage within you and stand up to Nyx. Seal her away. End it. Please. Do it for me.” It’s... Some boy’s words. A name materializes into my head. Makoto Yuki, my dead brother.

It’s time.

I summon the courage to stand up. This ends now.

“I have never dreamed of seeing that card with my very eyes... This is indeed a surprise... Behold the last power you and I have to unveil... It is the power to bring a new beginning, or the ultimate end. It may be possible, with this newfound power... You may be able to defeat the one who cannot be defeated. What you have in your hooves is the power of the Universe... Nothing is outside the realm of possibility for you now.”

Great Seal
The only way of containing Nyx from Erberus. Use the Prayers of your friends to seal them away.
999 HP

I pull out my Evoker one last time, remembering the bonds of friendship I’ve made over the past year. Spinning it around my right hoof (how’d did I even get this? I thought I left it behind with Aigis!), I pull it up to my head.

“Yukari... Junpei... Akihiko, Shinji and Mitsuru... Fuuka... Ken and Koromaru... Aigis... Goodbye...”

“We will soon reach your destination.”

“It seems that, in addition to Death, fate has also dealt you the wild card... You must accept your destiny. Our contract has been fulfilled. I have completed my role as well. You are truly a remarkable guest. Goodbye.”

Bang

I awoke in a panicked state, gasping for breath.

「結おねえさん、大丈夫ですか？」(Yuki-onee-san, are you okay?)

I look to where the voice is coming from, which is my left. A high school student is looking at me, worried. I shake my head and respond「はい、弟。ただの悪夢だ」(Yeah, little bro. Just a nightmare.)

「もう一つの悪夢？」(Another nightmare?) a burly voice says to my right「あなたはそれらをたくさん持っています。あなたは大丈夫ですか？」(You’ve been having a lot of those. Are you sure you’re okay?)

「はい、先輩。きっと、心配する必要はありません。」(Yes, senpai. I’m sure. You all don’t really need to worry.)

The ponies around us look at me and my friends in confusion, before returning to whatever they were doing. Right. They speak Ponish, and we speak Neighponese.

Hi, my name’s Mikata. Yuki Mikata. Right, ponies in Equestria use first then last. So my name’s Mikata Yuki. I’m from the city of Tatsumi Port Island, Neighpon. I’m a light brown unicorn with almost a red-brown mane and tail color. My eyes are crimson red, and my cutie mark’s that of a tarot card with a “XXII” in front. It’s been 7 years since the incident from my dreams. The pegasus to my left is Ken Amada (Justice), who’s many years behind me. When we first met, I was a second year at Gekkoukan High, and he was a 5th grader at Gekkoukan Elementary. He’s a very light brown with a normal brown mane and tail. His eyes are the same as his mane, and he has no cutie mark. He fell in love with me, but I shot him down with a “I see you more as a little brother than a love interest” thing. He’s now 19. To my right is an earth pony named Akihiko Sanada (Star), who’s a year older than me. He was the leader of the boxing club when I was in the High. His coat is a red-ish color and has silver-colored mane and tail. His eyes are grey, and has boxing gloves as his cutie mark.

“Where’re the others?” I ask.

“They left to get some food.” Ken stood up, or as much as he can. He’s short for his age. I’m still taller than him, and I haven’t grown an inch since I was 20! “You want some?”

“...You know the answer to that.”

Akihiko sighs. “Yeah, you should, Ken.”

Ken sighs as well. “Well, c’mon.”

I follow Ken as Akihiko shakes his head.

Canterlot Station
4/8
Daytime
Cloudy

The train stops at the Canterlot Station. Since we have to transfer over trains to get to Ponyville, we take our stuff and sit off nearby. I had a lot of food. And when I mean a lot, I mean a lot.

“Seriously, Mikata, how are you able to eat so much yet keep your figure?” asks Yukari Takeba (Lovers). She was my first friend since my parents died. Same age as I am, she was part of the Archery club before she graduated. We’re pretty close. She’s a light-pink unicorn that fades into a darker pink nearing her tail. Brunette mane, eye, and tail color. She has a cutie mark of a bow and arrow.

“Metabolism.” I simply respond with.

Before we move on (and so the writer doesn’t have to write character bios every time a character is introduced), I’ll talk about my other friends. Junpei Iori is of the Magician Arcana and is a pervert (to say the least). He’s of the same age, and, somehow, that makes it worse. He’s a light-grey earth pony. Brown mane, eye, and tail color. His cutie mark’s that of a heart in a cage. Mitsuru Kirijo is of the Empress Arcana and is both the leader of the Kirijo Group and SEES. She’s reliable, but isn’t very used to everyday life experiences. She’d a year older than me. She’s a white unicorn with red for her mane and tail, and brown eyes. Her cutie mark’s of the Evoker with the SEES logo. Fuuka Yamagishi is of the High Priestess Arcana and is our navigator. She’s a bit shy, but she has a great heart. Just don’t try her cooking. She hasn’t improved. She’s a pink unicorn with a light blue-green mane, eyes, and tail. Her cutie mark’s of a wi-fi symbol over a book cover.

Aigis is of the Aeon Arcana, a special arcana reserved solely for the ponies who are more special than you think. Aigis is a robot that attended class for some reason. Click this link to see Aigis’ design. I’m not gonna go into it. Koromaru is the ex-dorm’s pet dog, and is of the Strength Arcana. He is a white Shiba Inu (look it up, they’re adorable) with red eyes. Both Aigis and Koro-chan are wearing clothes. Aigis is wearing a casual blue tee-shirt, and Koro is wearing a white tee-shirt with angel wings. He’s also wearing his Evoker (click here to see Koro’s design from P3).

And then there’s the pony I’m snuggling next to. My coltfriend, Shinjiro Aragaki of the Moon Arcana. We just call him Shinji. An ax-wielding, trench-coat-wearing badass. He’s also a complete sweetheart. He has a maroon coat with brown-colored mane and tail and steel eyes. His cutie mark is an ax. He’s wearing a giant maroon trench coat and a beanie to regulate his body temperature. Though, he does take these off more often because his body’s re-obtaining its ability to regulate his body temperature.

Shinji mumbles something along the lines of “...Stop snuggling me,” in which I reply with a fullheartedly “No,” a stick of something in my mouth.

Junpei’s not one to just say nothing, so he speaks up. “Say, Shinjiro-senpai... Are you and Mikata-”

“No./Yes.” We respond.

“Well, whatever. The train’s coming when, Mitsuru-senpai?” Junpei asks.

“In about... 2 minutes...” Mitsuru responds.

I got up and rushed on over to our stuff, making sure everything’s there. Most of us’re starting fresh (kinda), so I’m starting off with a few souvenirs and stuff from Port Island and my SEES stuff: the Evoker pistol I have, some clothes with the SEES arm band, and just some random other stuff along with my Naginata, the Ven Ven Muruga. I got it from fusing Kartikeya and the Nihil Longsword. 450 damage with 100 accuracy and +10 to all stats of my currently equipped Persona.

...

...

‘...What the fuck did I just say?’ I thought.

The others didn’t think weapons are necessary, so they left that stuff back home. They brought clothes. That’s it.

I was tapped on my shoulder, and it was Ken. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“R-right.” I grabbed my luggage and left for the train.

I woke up to a... Purple-ish train car? Oh, Izanagi no.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room.”

“Hey, Igor.” I stared right into the creepy guy’s face. “So... What’s on the menu today? Another Dark Hour that needs destruction?”

Igor is this balding, middle-aged human (I tried asking him what a human was, to which he didn’t respond) with pale skin and white hair. He’s balding on top, and his remaining hair is curling up. He wears a tux with white gloves which support his enormous nose. It’s, like, a meter long or something. His eyes look like they want to pop right out of his skull.

“Oh, no. There was only one Dark Hour. And that’s seal is still up. No, there’s another issue at hand... Er... Hoof.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you find me?”

“Not just you. I find 2 Wild Cards. Now listen to me, Mikata. The moment you set foot in Ponyville, you will be given one year. You will work with 3 teams. You and many others will solve a horrible mystery. Of course, I will be able to assist you here in the Velvet Room.” Igor looks around. " I am certain you are pondering ‘why a train and not the Elevator we were in when we last met.’” He looks back at me. “It matter not right now. You still have the key, yes?” I subconsciously pick up the key from my saddlebags. “Wonderful. When you need me, you know what to do. Until next time, Mikata.”

I slowly wake up as we are pulled into Ponyville.

Ponyville Station
4/8
Daytime
Semi-Cloudy

I shake out the remaining drowsiness and went to grab my stuff. Once we got off, we wandered the town, looking for my new home, when...

“*GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASP!*” An elongated gasp rings out. A pink pony come rushing towards us at the speed of the bullet train in Port Island. Geez. “Hi! How are you? Never seen you around before. Wait. Don’-”

I cover her mouth. 17 years of experience of reading others emotions didn’t really help me here, because she had her emotions on her sleeve... Metaphorically speaking. It’s all in her voice. She’s very excited. “Calm down, okay?” She stops talking. Oh, thank Izanagi that I learned Ponish from a family member that lives here in Equestria. I taught it to my friends in case an Equestrian came up to them and asked a question in Ponish. “Thank you. Now, what is your name?”

“My name’s Pinkie Pie. Professional Party Planner, baker, and overall a nice pony!”

“Well, my name is Y- er... Mikata Yuki. This is Junpei Iori, Yukari Takeba, Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, Fuuka Yamagishi, Ken Amada, Shinjiro Aragaki, Aigis and Koromaru.” I point to each one respectively. “We’re all from Neighpon. They’re just helping me move in-”

Pinkie Pie gasps again and runs off. “Pinkie seems restraint today.” We turn around and we find the Princess of Friendship, Princess Twilight. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“Holy sweet...” Junpei mumbles.

“Nice to meet you too, Princess. You must’ve heard our conversation with that Pinkie Pie.” Mitsuru states.

“Yes I have. And am I wrong to assume that the leader of this group of ponies-” she looks to Koro-chan “-and dog is Miss Mikata?”

I rub the back of my neck. “I-I guess you can say that...” Thing is, both Mitsuru and I are the leaders of the group. I am technically the jack-of-all-trades of the group (making me the strongest), but Mitsuru has more expertise with SEES. She appointed me leader of the then 5-pony group when we explored the tower of Tartarus all those years ago because a certain... Incident occurred. I’ll explain later on.

“So, you’re moving in? Here, let me help you.” She levitates some of my stuff... Including my saddlebag with my weapons. I was... Internally screaming.

Home
4/8
Evening
Semi-Cloudy

The entire team’s staying over for the night. Junpei and Mitsuru will take the train first thing next morning. Junpei has some things left to do at Port Island (He’ll be back sometime later) and Mitsuru has the Kirijo Group. Nopony else has anything back in Neighpon. Aki and Shinji are orphans, Ken left behind the memories of his late mother and his revenge plot against Shinji. Yuka-tan wanted to live here for her acting career. I just wanted a change in scenery. Fuuka heard some tech here is more advanced, and wanted to visit. I crash in my bed and sleep. Unpacking tomorrow.

Author's Note

Welcome to my new fic! I love Persona, and I just recently finished the 4th movie of Persona 3. So, I randomly had a P3/P4 fic pop in my head.

The Elements of Chaos is currently on Hiatus until further notice. It will be updated and won't be cancelled. I just need an escape from that.

Hope ya enjoy!

Mikata is sorta like the female version of Makoto, one of the canon names of the male protagonist of Persona 3/P3FES/PQ:SofL (P3 route)/P3P/P3 Dancing in Moonlight

This isn't canon to P3 at all.

4/9: Risette and the Inaba Investigation Team

Home
4/9
Early Morning
Sunny

I woke up to the light shining through the blinds. Stepping out, it looks like Junpei and Mitsuru have already left. I sigh and leave the building with nothing but my saddlebag (without my weapons) and some bits. I needed to by some stuff.

Market Place
4/9
Daytime
Sunny

As I was wandering the Market Place, I spotted the Princess talking to the mayor. Slowing down to eavesdrop on them, I only got snippets of info, but enough to get the gist.

"... Rise Kujikawa... friends... Festival?"

"... Town Hall... show..."

So Rise Kujikawa, otherwise known as Risette, and her friends (I think from that one town in the boonies... Inaba, I think) are coming to Ponyville for some festival happening. A show will occur in Town Hall to kick off said Festival. And I heard the time. Tonight at 8. I should tell the others once I get back.

Town Hall
4/9
Night
Cloudy

I got my friends to accept in the offer of going to Town Hall to see this show. Standing nearby, Shinji says "Risette coming here from Neighpon? That's a huge distance. She must have some ulterior motive."

"Good point, Shinji. Took us 3 days to actually move here from Port Island." Ken pointed out.

"Does it really matter much. Let's just enjoy the show!" Yukari says excitedly. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited, but I hid it pretty well. Well, minus the large smile on my face.

After we got our seats (and snacks), the show began.

Twilight walked onto the stage and looked onto the large crowd. "Thank you all for coming tonight! The flowers are blooming, it's a nice warm Spring evening, and we're here to kick off the Spring Bloom Festival with a large bang! Coming all the way from the small town of Inaba in Neighpon, it's Risette!"

The crowd exploded in cheers, and I joined in as loud as I can.

Hot damn. I think I'm turning bi while looking at the beautiful pink unicorn that is Risette. From top to bottom: Her brunette hair was tied up into pigtails that are curved, somewhat covering her orange headset. She has a black choker with her cutie mark, a microphone over a heart. She had a small white shirt on her that's unpopped and not completely buttoned up, showing the deep rose pink inside of the shirt. She wore a skirt of the same color as the inside of her shirt, which were connected by two black straps. She wore long black socks on her hind legs. She had smaller, white socks on her front legs. On her back hooves were some small pink shoes. Her deep brown eyes looked around with warmth.

"It's so wonderful to see so many ponies out to see me!" she excitedly shouted through her headset, which were connected to the speaker set. "So this is the beautiful town of Ponyville?" She chuckles. "Well, let's get this party started!" She nods to somepony off stage.

A nice tune started playing, but was interrupted by a record scratch.

"Here's another one." A grey pegasus walked on stage. He had silver colored mane, tail and eyes. He was a little taller than Risette. He wore a white dress shirt under a grey overcoat highlighted with yellow. He had a yellow bandanna tied to his front-right leg. Headphones were strapped around his popped collar of the overcoat. He's holding a microphone. It's hard to detect a cutie mark from here. I think his name's... Naru... something. Ponies know him for his stage name "Lotus Juice".

A more upbeat song started playing. Risette muttered something, and, from her mouth movement and her gleefully closed eyes, Lotus Juice must be her senpai.

Six more ponies walked out from backstage. (Writer, you ready? "I was born ready. My hands might die, though" Super!)

Going from stage left to stage right, an orange pegasus with an orange shirt that says "FEVER!" in white, covered by the same grey overcoat. Looking closer, it seems to have some insignia on it. I'll look closer later. His orange headset is over his ears, and his yellow bandanna is around his neck. He has unkempt brunette hair. His cutie mark's that of two kunai in an X pattern. Next is a green earth pony with a white t-shirt that says "CheerS!" in blue over a yellow circle over a red circle. It also has blue highlights. She also has a green jacket over the shirt. She has a black-and-grey checkered skirt. She also has short brunette hair. Next to her is a girl I recognize. Yukiko Amagi. I slept at her inn once. She has a plain white t-shirt with a red overcoat. There's the insignia again over a yellow bandanna. Now I recognize the symbol. It's the symbol for Yasogami High, the high school in Yasoinaba. She has the same skirt as the green girl to her left. Next is Lotus, then Risette, then a light grey dragon. He has wings, but is small and scrawny. He's definitely childish. He's wearing some form of dress shirt with a rose. He's also wearing black pants. He has a cartoony crown on his head, and he's wearing a yellow cape. His spines are sorta blond-gold-ish. Next to him is some burly grey earth pony. He has on the signature bandanna on his head, nearly covering the clearly bleached hair. The overcoat for the first two stallions is around his waste, over the dark grey shirt he's wearing. He has a skull and crossbones over a wheel for a cutie mark. Next to him (and thankfully, for the writer at least) is a blue unicorn with a black mane and tail. She's wearing a blue shirt strapped on with multiple (hopefully fake) leather straps connecting to some black pants. She has a blue detective hat on. She has a yellow tie.

That's it for introductions of the character design, now for the song.

I quickly analyzed this information, then got comfortable. Everypony but the grey pegasus and Risette started dancing along to the song.

Got me something true now
I'm not looking anymore
The times of fakin' love are through now
Sharing real connections what we're made for

A record scratch. Then Risette, suddenly, started rapping.

Come on, let go of the remote
Don't you know you're letting all the junk flood in?
I try to stop the flow,
Double-clicking on the go
But it's no use hey, I'm being consumed

Then the pegasus started to pick up the rap.

And I went with the flow,
Double trouble on the go,
Posers kept posing,
I'm opposing against these foes
Please know
I'm the roses that grew out
From the concrete jungle

(Now, just imagine the dance section of the intro to Persona 4 Dancing)

Not a day goes by without me thinking 'bout
The way the world stopped mid-motion
When you walked into my life and we connected
Like we shared the same mad potion

Couldn't help but move
The threads of fate had spun us
Into each other's lives by chance
All this energy's got us inspired now
We couldn't stop it,
Just set it free and...
Dance!

Everypony started dancing along, but stopped freeze-frame-style when the record scratched again.

We got something strong now
We're not hiding anymore
The times of phony love are gone now
Only special friends come in through (yes) our door

Lotus started rapping yet again.

Live a real life
Don't be possessed by whoever
No time to waste
Keep on moving
Whether on or off the beat,
It don't matter if you never give up
Life keeps on grooving

Embrace a heartbeat and step to it step to it
Connect with it hold it tight
Spider web to it
Told you once
Ain't nobody can hold me down

Everypony but Risette starts dancing. Risette does a little in-place dance as she sings.

Not a day goes by
Without me feeling thankful
'Bout our profound devotion
Since you walked into my life and all around me
Everything just stopped mid-motion

Like a high wire act,
No compromise with truth,
The radiant intensity we share
All this energy's got us inspired now.

Everyone slows the dancing down.

Wanna dance
Wanna share this magic bond

The orange pegasus shouts "YEAH!"

Like we shared the same mad potion

The lead Pegasus mutters something into the mike.

When you walked into my life and we connected
Like we shared a magic dance

"Take it away, Senpai!" Risette shouts. Lotus (I called it, he's her senpai) quickly raps. The backup dancers start to dance to the beat.

Straight away,
Going my way
Let the nonchalant be commandant to themselves
But we're taking over,
Making over,
The lame shame claim they make,
Game's over
Is it a spell or magic?
Imagine what happens different age different passion
What I'm asking I can't call it,
Uh!
If I ain't got my crew I won't be dancing

Risette picks it up.

So baby go for it
Feel the vibe

Back to Lotus.

Gonna touch down make this dive
It keeps me alive
The melody
The flow
The beat
The heart
Together we ride

Risette ends the song with:

All this energy's got us inspired now,
We couldn't stop it, just set it free and...
Dance!

Once the song ended, everyone clapped. It was honestly an amazing song-and-dance. The show kept going for another hour. The only thing I remember was a weird song named "Time to Make History", but I don't know why...

As I looked on, I felt a familiar sensation. I noticed that the entire crew seemed to be closer, like they had a cause to be together. I looked at them and saw a card. It was the Fool Arcana. So... this team is of the Fool? Igor did say something about the Wild Card. But if I can see that they are of an arcana, then maybe...

The show ends, and while everypony else leaves, I walk up to the stage. I quickly hid to listen in.

"Senpai, that was amazing!" Risette yells in Neighponese and hugs her senpai.

"You sure were, partner! Didn't know you could rap that fast!" the orange pegasus comments.

Yukiko picks it up with "Yeah, I don't think we've been with you on some of your shows. How do you do it?"

"I've had practice, thank's to Rise here" the grey pegasus comments. I now see his cutie mark is that of the Arcana with a "0" over it. I had to talk with him.

I jump out of my cover. "Um... Excuse me?" I quickly wince when everypo- everyone looks at me.

"Yes?" Rise asks.

I look to Lotus. "Sorry to ask but... Are you the second Wild Card Igor mentioned?" His face turned pale.

"What do you mean?" His face returned to normal, but he didn't mask his scared emotions well. It's more like he can't hide his emotions, unlike myself.

"You have the ability of switching Personas, correct?" My magic started to glow as it grabbed the hilt of the Evoker.

He sighs. Now he knows he can't escape. "Yes. I assume you are also a Persona User?"

"Yeah. Lost the ability 7 years ago."

"But the TV world didn't disappear until 5 years ago..."

I stare at him, confused.

"Mikata!" Aigis calls from behind me.

"Other Persona Users, Miss Mikata?" He asks me.

My friends catch up. "Hey, who are these ponies?" Ken asks.

"Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves, eh? Well, my name's Yu Narukami and Lotus Juice. And these are my friends. Rise Kujikawa, or as you know her as Risette, Yosuke Hanamura, Yukiko Amagi, Chie Satonaka, Kanji Tatsumi, Naoto Shirogame, and Teddie." He pointed to Risette, the orange pegasus, the red unicorn, the green earth pony, the grey earth pony, the blue unicorn, and the dragon respectively. We introduced ourselves.

"So two teams of Persona Users. But you said something about a TV world?" I ask. The others're understandably confused. "Our Shadow time comes in the Dark Hour, an hour between two days."

"We jump into a TV to be able to access our Shadow world... thing." Yu responds. "But you do have a Persona, right?"

"Yep!"

"Strange." I looked over, and saw my friends conversing with the other team. Aigis with Teddie, Ken, Shinji and Koromaru with Kanji and Yosuke, Yukari and Akihiko with Yukiko, Naoto and Chie, and Fuuka with Rise.

I yawn. "What time is it?"

"9:12" Yu responds, checking his watch.

"Well, I'm job hunting, so I'll see you. You aren't going back to Neighpon anytime soon, yeah?"

"Yeah. We'll be here until the end of the festival, which is a week from now."

"Cool. Well, see ya." My friends say goodbye to their respective partners, and we all leave. My fatigue started to kick in with full force.

"I overheard Teddie trying to hit on Aigis, and she shot her down hard!" Yukari says.

"Damn." That was the only response I had before passing out.

The Velvet Room

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

"Hey, Igor." We're still in the train car.

"It would appear you have made friends with one of my prior guests, Yu Narukami. He has the same power as you. And now, it seems that your Dark Hour is not a single hour between days. It is a parallel dimension. This must be fun. Ah, yes. I neglected to mention my new assistant when you first came here. This is Lavenza."

A young alicorn filly in a frilly dress is next to him. Like her sisters and brother before (I remember a mare named Margret and a stallion named Theodore) her long mane and tail are silver in color and her eyes are golden. She's holding the iconic Compendium I'm used to. She bows and says "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master of Death. I will preform the same tasks as Elizabeth had before." She must mean when I was able to control Thanatos that one time. If memory serves me right, his bio was... "The Greek god of death, he is the son of Nyx and the brother of Hypnos. He is depicted as a young man with an inverted torch and wreath or butterfly in his hands." He was OP as hell. Insta-kill skills with high accuracy and some powerful physical skills.

"Now, our time with each other is running thin. You know how to reach me and my services. Enjoy your rest."

Author's Note

At the time of writing this, I'll be gone. My Chromebook (the think I'm writing this on) will be removed. School laptop. See you July 9th! (I might start the P4 route and may add another route...)

4/10: Where is she?

Home
4/10
Morning
Light Shower

I woke up to the sound of a busy house. I sat up and tried to sort through my memories. And then I had a theory. I levitated my Evoker and went downstairs after slipping into my pink shirt and white skirt. (I slept on the 2nd floor).

It was chaos.

Aigis was keeping Koromaru out of the kitchen, Shinji was cooking with Fuuka (a disaster waiting to happen), Yukari is writing out something (after closer inspection, it was the lyrics of Doki Doki Forever by Or3o), Ken was checking out my NW-S20x MP3 player and my red ATH-EM700 SV clip-on earphones, and Aki was on his laptop. I yawn. "What time is it?"

"10:25 A.M." Aigis responds like an alarm clock.

"Damn." I walked outside. Some looked at me confused, but then looked back to what they were doing.

It was slightly raining. I didn't care. I walked to the back of the home I'll be living in. Nice. A perfect spot to test this.

I went to a shed in our back yard. The previous owners left behind their ancient TV set because it was far too heavy and old. I stuck my hoof out to the screen. I was beginning have doubts, when...

It went in.

The TV started to pull me in, but I tried to pull out. In desperation (and because I was used to summoning Orpheus Telos at a time like this), I pulled out my Evoker and fired it at my head.

[BANG!]

Blue fire erected a circle around me. My shirt and skirt were flapping around rapidly with the wind. My eyes glowed blue. Blue shards flew out the other side where I fired my Evoker (my Evoker was pointed to the left part of my head, so shards flew out the right side). The shards flew into the TV screen, forming Orpheus.

"I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul I returneth. I am the mistress of strings... Orpheus!"

I pulled my hoof out of the TV, confused. A strange incident occurred with Orpheus. She actually spoke more than just her intro lines.

"Young mistress of Fate, and survivor of Death, I am here to assist you through your journey through Cognition and back. Get ready, for this next ordeal will be harder than what you are used to." Orpheus nods, then dissolves.

You have obtained the facade to live through life's hardships
You now can summon Female Orpheus!

Neat! Orpheus' back! Wait. How can I enter the TV, like Yu mentioned? That's really strange.

"Yeah it is, init?"

"W-Who said that?!"

I felt something on my shoulder, and when I looked, a mini Orpheus was on my shoulder. "I did, kiddo. Name's Orpheus. Orpheus Picaro. Your brother used to have me before he died. I was just biding my time and here we are!"

Well. I think I'm insane.

"You kinda are. I mean, you shoot yourself to summon me, my gender-bent self, Telos, Thanatos, Messiah, or whatever other Persona you have. Seriously. Okay, so from now on, I'll just be the voice in your head. I can pop out whenever I want, but I'm not a Persona. So you can't fuse me away." He disappears. So he's another facet of my personality. Alright. I shake that thought (and the water trapped in my hair) and return into the house. I'll be job-hunting after lunch.

Ponyville Town Hall
4/10
Daytime
Cloudy

I went to Town Hall to see the bulletin board. I had my mp3 player and my earphones, and they were playing a pony named FamilyJules' instrumental cover of "Will Power". I paused it to read through the jobs on the board, but I was distracted. I was thinking about what happened earlier today with Orpheus. I look over to my right, and see Narukami looking off to the distance. I look back to the board and say "Hey, Narukami" in Neighponese.

This snapped him right out. "Oh, hey Yuki" he responds in Neighponese.

"What're you doing?" I ask.

"Thinking about what Igor was talking about last night."

"Say, I gotta show you something, if he'll appear, that is." I muttered the last part. I walk up to Narukami and say "Hey, Orphie. Mind coming out?"

"Why'd ya call me that?" Orpheus appears on my shoulder, but Narukami isn't fazed.

"Oh, that. Hey, Izzy?"

"Yeah, Naru?" Something (I'm guessing his Persona) appears on Narukami's shoulder. "Woah. Another Picaro. I am Izanagi Picaro."

"Orpheus Picaro." Orphie nods his head. Orphie then nods in my direction. "And this Wild Card is Yuki Mikata. And he's..."

"Narukami Yu." Izanagi points to Narukami.

"So you tried to enter this TV realm early this morning, and you found out you can, right?" 'Naru' nods. "And your Persona, whom I presume is Izanagi, the god of Neighpon, talked to you?" He also nods to this. "So, mind telling me what Izanagi said?"

"Yeah, Izzy said 'You who repel Lies and seeker of the Truth, I am here to assist you through your Journey through Cognition and back. Get ready, for this next ordeal will be harder than what you are used to.' That's all."

Izanagi Picaro (I'll call him Pico Izzy), stared at his wielder and said "Really? Are you sure that's all? What about that part of being the man-wh-"

"That was Nanako, and zip it before I switch you out for Mara." Pico Izzy shut himself up. Pico Orphie (I'll call him that) just look between them and each other.

"You know what I'm thinking, right?"

"Yep. Deal." We both nod.

I thought to myself "If I can make money via the Tartarus in Port Island, maybe I can do the same with this 'Cognition' place?" "Oh, I think today's venders are open. Wanna grab a snack or something?"

"Sure." Narukami says plainly, forcing Pico Izzy away.

Vender's Hall
4/10
Evening
Semi-Cloudy

My friends and I are with Narukami-kun, Rise-chan, and their friends.

"Hey, Mika-chan!" Teddie started. He was in a strange bear suit. "Would you li-"

"I'm taken, Teddie." The look on his face was pure sadness. It was hilarious.

We walked around, played at the many different stalls, and ate a lot of food. If memory serves me right, I accumulated over ¥10,000,000, which is about 5678.80 bits. So we had a lot of money to spend. But we could always use a bit more.

A rainbow-maned pony arrives in front of us and asks "Have you seen Twilight? I can't find her anywhere!"

"Did ya troy da castle?" Yukari asks. She is bad in Ponish, but at least she's not Junpei.

"I tried everywhere! Town Hall, her castle, the school, the Everfree. All my friends are looking for her, yet still nothing!"

"Calm down, miss..." I tell her.

"Rainbow Dash." I've heard of her. The new blood in the Wonderbolts, right? But she isn't being boastful or trying to elevate her ego. I guess desperation does this.

"Okay, Rainbow Dash. We'll help." I assure her. I look back to see if everyone agrees. My team does.

Narukami has a somewhat scared look on his face, but says "Yeah. We'll help." His friends agree with him.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Please, find her!" And with that, Dash-chan flew off.

Naru and I look at each other, thinking we know where she is. "C'mon. Let's look in her castle." I suggest. "There must be something they overlooked." And with that, we ran off to the castle.

Twilight's Room
4/10
Late Night
Semi-Cloudy

We arrived and went to the search. I brought my Vel Vel Mungua with me.

"So, Yuki, what's your team named?" Naru asks.

"The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. SEES for those who don't wanna bite their freaking tongues off." I respond.

"Why SEES?" asks Hanamura-kun.

"It was either that or Shadow Hunting Inverse Team. SHIT for short." Shinji responds.

"Oh. Yeah, SEES is better."

"I kinda like that second one." Teddie-kun says.

Naru is standing in front of the TV, looking a little ghostly. I look to the wall nearby. 11:59 P.M. with 5 seconds 'til Midnight.

4...

3...

2...

1...

Author's Note

I AM BACK, FUCKERS!

So, Chromebook's back in my possession, and now I'll be able to do this story. I now have a few ideas on how the story's gonna go. EoC is still on hiatus.

4/11: She's on the Other Side

Twilight's Room
4/11
Midnight
???

[BZKDNSZORJRRRRT!] went the TV. It turned on with a yellow-ish tint. Narukami-kun looked like he'd seen a ghost, and same goes with his team.

"Oh, God no." Amagi-chan muttered under her breath.

"The hell's goin' on?" Shinji asks, when...

"...p me! I'm trapped here! What's going on?"

"Wait, it's not the Midnight channel" Tatsumi-kun said. "Then the hell is this?"

"I know you want to know, whomever may see this, that monsters are here with me. Send help! Wait! NO! GHYAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" Instincts kick in (because somepony is yelling for help and getting injured) and I jump into the TV.

"Yuki!" Narukami yelled.

"Holy shit!" was the last thing I heard, and I think Ken said that.

???
4/11
???
Thin Fog

I wake up in... Ponyville? I'm where the Castle should be, but it's not here. Neither is the school Dash-chan mentioned. And there's this eerie but thin fog everywhere. Hold on, do I still have... Good, I still have the Vel Vel Mungua. I see a standard Evoker in front of me. Wonderful. I'm a fortunate pony. I levitate it near me. I then hear the screams again. Right. Sparkle-shi's here. I chase after the screams, no matter where they'll lead me.

A little bit later, I find Sparkle-shi, gravely injured, surrounded by Shadows. One seems to have died by her hooves. It's go time. Two Cowardly Mayas. Weak to Agi, Zio, and Garu. Perfect. Simple enemies. But I don't have simple skills. Ah, well. I have some SP recovery items on me. It'll be okay.

"ORPHEUS! MARAGIDYNE!" Orpheus is summoned, and her red eyes glow. She pulls out the harp on her back and strums it, lighting up the Mayas with fire. Grabbing Vel Vel Mungua, I rush in, hacking and slashing as much as I can. Once it was all over, I look over to the Princess.

I pick her up and place her on my back. "Don't worry, Princess. I'll get you out of here." It was then when I realized it. How the hell am I gonna get out of the TV? Clearly, I can't leave they way I came. That's when I heard it.

"Ah, Twilight. Can't even help yourself. You must wait for somepony to come to rescue you. Just like the Princesses before you." A distorted voice rang out.

"N... no..." Twilight muttered, too tired to do much more.

"Who are you?! What do you want with the Princess?!" My magic grabs my Naginata and points it in front of me.

"Who am I? Why, I'm Twilight." What...? "See for yourself." A figure appeared, and around it, a denser fog than what I saw when I entered blinds my vision. The figure is about less than a meter from me when I can see it somewhat clearly. It looked just like the Princess on my back, but some details are different. It's hair is more messed up, like it woke up with a serious case of bedhead (I mean, I shouldn't be talking...), it's wearing a scientist's coat, and, most jarringly, it has piercing yellow eyes, almost like the Velvet Room Residents.

The Twilight on my back opened her eyes slightly. "W-what...?" she cried, tiredly. To be honest, same. Not now, Pico Orphie.

"What, you don't recognize your own face? Pah!" 'Twilight' looks disappointed. "You know, the Princesses in Canterlot shouldn't have given me this new power. Who knows? I might go crazy. Oh! I know! Let's go up to Canterlot, find Celestia and Luna, take this shank-" 'Twilight' levitates a knife "-and-"

"Why would I do that?" my Twilight asks, gaining a bit more energy. I think I heard something in the distance...

"Why? Well, they gave us this accursed power. Might as well use it to the max. Take over." 'Twilight' smirks an evil smirk. That sound is coming nearer...

Twilight lifts herself off my back, seeming to gain even more energy now, though she's wobbling. "Why say 'us'? You're not me."

"Oh, but I am you. I know all your little secrets. Like who you have a crush on..." Twilight blushes a bit on that... Wonder why? "...what you plan on doing with that pony-" she- no. It points at me. "...so on and so on. And, to be honest, you never wanted any of this. You just wanted to stay in that stupid tower and read. Even if the world ends and Nightmare Moon took over, you wouldn't have cared. Who needs friends when you have yourself, am I right?" I think I can feel that noise's presence. It's really close now...

"No. You're wrong. My friends are what keep me afloat. You'll never understand how I fell because... Because..." Twilight's regaining her footing.

"Come now, me. Say it." 'Twilight's' face contorts into an evil shit-eating grin.

"Because..." She stands up straight, looks it in the eyes, and shouts, "YOU'RE NOT ME!"

"Yuki!" I turn around and Narukami slaps my face. The others're here as well. "What the hell were you thinking?! You're lucky that Teddie, Rise-chan, and Yamagishi-chan were here! Otherwise-"

'Twilight' starts laughing maniacally. "Yeah. That's right. I'm not you. I'm my own self now!" Dark masses start flowing into 'Twilight'.

What happens next will confuse me until the day Erberus meets Nyx and kills us all. The 'Twilight' is now a 10-meter grotesque demon. It was bipedal, with claws. It's skin is sorta like Twilight's fur, but much more desaturated (like this). It's dress looks like something straight out of a B rated horror film or a cheesy game like RE4. A tattered white dress with tattered purple sections everywhere. It's wearing a golden crown, in which it lies a painted smile in blue. The crown also has the number '0' below the smile. "The Fool" arcana. It's mane was the same color as the skin, and all ragged, with random strains of hair coiling up and out of place. Light make-up was on the almost-unrecognizable face, minus the yellow eyes. Those... breasts, I think they were called...? Whatever. They're massive. Like no joke. Each are like a meter in diameter. It has some shoe-like thing on its hind legs. I overheard this crazy mare talking about 'humans' and how the females like to wear 'high-heels' and such. I think that's the shoes the creature's wearing.

"I am the Shadow of your True Inner Self! Now, let me show you who I truly am!" the Shadow yells.

"Yamagishi-chan, analyze that Shadow!" I barked.

Yamagishi-chan nods, and summons Juno and scans it.

Naru grabs Sparkle-shi and drags her off to near Yamagishi-chan and Juno. "Rise, can you fight?"

As if to answer, Rise pulls out a microphone and stand out of nowhere. I don't understand why she'd classify that as a weapon, but I consider this spear with a rainbow feather a naginata, so whatever. "Kouzeon may not be able to fight, but I am!"

"Wonderful. Let's take it out!" Naru and I charge ahead.

"It repels Light and Dark. No weaknesses detected." Yamagishi-chan yells.

Everyone wails at it with everything they got. The Shadow just sits there. And then, that's when it happens. The hair on the Shadow stretches out and grabs everyone (including the navigators) and mutters "Back to Basics, children." We fall.

Mikata Yuki - Level 1
Orpheus (Locked in)
Yukari Takeba - Level 1
Io
Akihiko Sanada - Level 1
Polydeuces
Ken Amada - Level 1
Nemesis
Koromaru - Level 1
Cerberus
Shinjiro Aragaki - Level 1
Castor
Aigis - Level 1
Palladion
Fuuka Yamagishi - Level 1
Lucia

Yu Narukami - Level 1
Izanagi (Locked in)
Yosuke Hanamura - Level 1
Jiraiya
Chie Satonaka - Level 1
Tomoe
Yukiko Amagi - Level 1
Konohana Sakuya
Kanji Tatsumi - Level 1
Take-Mikazuchi
Teddie - Level 1
Kintoki-Douji
Naoto Shirogame - Level 1
Sukuna-Hikona
Rise Kujikawa - Level 1
Himiko

I shake off the strange feeling and summon Orpheus. "Light 'em up!" Instead, Orpheus goes and Bashes it, knocking the Fool down.

I was about to ponder on that, but thought better. "Everyone! It's time for an All-Out Attack!" Everyone (including Rise) nodded and we all rushed at the Fool (I don't know when Yukari got her bow, Aki got his brass knuckles, Shinji got his ax, Koro got his knives, or Ken got his spear, but whatever). We beat the ever-living shit out of it, and yet it looks like we barely went through half of its health.

"Insolent fools! Let me rule over you! Why plan ahead when you can live the moment?"

"It truly is the reverse Fool." I mutter before attempting to summon Jack Frost to freeze it alive (which fails for whatever reason), while also trying to tell Twilight what the hell is going on, along with Naru.

About 3 minutes in, we're really tired. I pop a Soma, maxing out all of our SP and HP, but we're not as strong as we used to be. We also realized that our Personas have reversed to their original state, making this fight ever so harder. Naru-kun and I also can't summon other Personas, so we're fuck in that regard. It's almost down, so I use the last of my strength to use Bash, getting a crit, and knocking it down. We didn't even need to say anything, for we just bum-rushed it.

"Graah... Reaa.. RA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" It screamed in pain when it finally died. Everyone is now to level 12 from that fight alone. We still don't have our Ultimate Personas (some new revelation must occur, I think), but we're getting there.

'Twilight' lays on the ground where the reverse Fool shadow once stood. I lifted the Naginata, ready to strike it down, but Naru stopped me. "No. Twilight must face her Shadow for this to not happen again." My face must clearly show confusion, because he adds "The Shadow is a facet of a pony that we don't wish to admit exists. By accepting it, she'll essentially become whole."

Sparkle-shi walks up to 'Shadow Twilight' and starts talking. "*Sigh* Yes. I... see where you're coming from. I never asked for any of this. I just wanted to graduate and likely work in that school as a librarian or something. But... I truly love my friends. Even when I just want to be alone, they know just what to do to push me back into the right path." As she's talking, I subconsciously grab one of the tarot cards I always have in my pocket. I actually grabbed two. The Fool, in the Upright position, and the Hierophant, in the upright position. I look between the Fool card and Twilight. 'So she's the new Wild Card?' Seems like it, mate. Also looks like she's the Hierophant Social Link, maybe.

"When I first obtained the status of Alicorn, I was scared. For more than just the responsibilities. I was scared that the new powers will consume my being, making me into the power-hungry creatures and ponies I fought against. I was scared that I would become like the princesses in dire situations: relegated to the backdrop while somepony else saves the day. I was scared that my friends'll die, but I'll live on. And I still am scared. But that doesn't mean I should just ignore all of this and just live as if I wasn't immortal. I have to face that head on, and to reveal my true self. And you are a part of that. You are me, and I am you, so let's face the future. Together."

Shadow Twilight smiles, then fazes into a white mass. It then manifests into a new form. The elements of the Shadow demon that stays is the bipedal form, white dress and purple overcoat, and crown. The claws are less claw-like and look soft. The right hand holds a sword connected to a bag as the counter-weight, and in the left is a white rose. The skin is more like Sparkle-shi's, but a bit on the brown side (like this). She's also wearing (what I presume to be) brown pants beneath. The mane is more full, reaching the shoulders, and is purple-blue in color. The smile and "0" on the crown is gone, and in its place, a six-pointed purple star. She isn't as large as most Personas I've seen. It seems a bit smaller than 4 meters. At least it isn't Shirogame's Persona.

"Isabella Bird..." Sparkle-shi muttered before passing out. 'Isabella' phased out of existence. Naru picks her up and says "Never come here on your own. If you do, I can't guarantee you'll survive." I nod. I'm just too tired now.

This feeling...

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

"Hi, Igor."

"It would seem you have found another of the Wild Card. Twilight Sparkle, is her name not?" I nod. "Wonderful. Now, she is unique as she has already formed many bonds. I shall talk to her about that later. But what's important is this new world you have found. Call it what you'd like, but this has some similarities to Tartarus. And some uniqueness to it. You can go in whenever you'd like, but it's best to find a safe place to enter always. Now, wake up."

Home
4/11
Morning
Mostly Clear

I woke up on the couch to see my friends looking worried. With a hoarse voice, I """"""comically"""""" said "Snappin' back to reality. Welp, there goes gravity." I levitated a fork. Dude, that was shit. And you should feel like it. 'Yeah, yeah. Zip it Pico Orphie, or else I'll play Justin Bieber.' Alright, alright. Calm down. The Evoker from last night wasn't here.

"Oh, thank God you're alright" I heard Shinji mutter behind me. I sit up.

Yawning, I ask "What time is it?"

"10:25 A.M." Aigis states, like an alarm clock (again). I love that toaster. "Did you see him?"

"Who?" Satonaka-chan asks. I nod in response. I look over to Naru-kun. He also nods.

"Sparkle Twilight is in your room right now."

"Alright. Now to talk about Narukami and his friends." I look over to them. "I'm guessing you all are staying?"

"We talked about it, and we've made our conclusions." Shirogame-chan starts. "I contacted the agency in Tokyo and told them that there's a case of kidnappings here in Equestria. They allowed me to stay and do the job." As she talks, I can feel the coin purse I have start to get heavier. The funds of the last battle are now flowing in. I think I just got about 75 bits from the Maya battle and the Shadow Twilight fight combined.

"My father can still run the Junes store back in Inaba" Hanamura-kun continues.

"We have quite a few part-timers at the Inn. I'm covered" Amagi-chan says.

"Rise's staying because she contacted the agency so that she'll be able to put on quite a few more shows here in Equestria, and it'll be much easier to stay than to continuously go back and forth." Narukami looks like he wants to end this quick. "Teddie doesn't have much in Inaba to begin with, Chie is able to move out of her house with no regrets, and Kanji could easily call in sick. As for me, I just go wherever. I also have a more... personal investigation to do in Equestria. So, our situation is fine and open. What about yours?"

I explain that we're staying here, and Junpei's returning soon. As I say this, I type on my phone a message to Junpei telling him to bring all of our Evokers. I look to the map of Ponyville, and apparently there's an Arms Salespony somewhere in town. That's... oddly fortunate.

"Alright, so" Ken starts. "We need to coordinate a leader between the two teams we have and, if she wants to join, Sparkle-sama."

"How long have you been fighting Shadows?" Naru-kun asks.

"We started the big fight since 2009. Aki and Shinji have been fighting since 2007, and Aigis, who is a Shadow-Hunting 'Weapon', has been fighting for 17 years now. however. I just happen to be the strongest of the squad, so I'm the leader. Since I'm the Wild Card and all."

"Yeah. So, who'd like Mikata Yuki to be the leader of the combined forces?" Everyone rose their hoof (or claw) in acceptance. "Alright. Yuki-senpai, I'll be counting on you."

"I don't like it when you call her senpai, Senpai." Risette mutters under her breath.

[GLASS BREAK SFX]

I am thou, Thou art I
Thou has forged a new bond

It shall guide thee closer to the Truth
And shall assist in dispelling Falsehood and Death

We grant thee the power of the Fool
Use this power wisely

"Now, let's leave Twilight to rest" Naru-kun states. "She deserves it after what just went down." We all nod.

"Let's go tell Dash-chan about our success, then we can hit the festival" I suggest.

"...Dash-chan?" Yukari mutters under her breath.

After everyone agrees on the plan, we leave the house.

Festival Grounds
4/11
Evening
Clear

We had a lot of fun messing around at the festival. I heard from a little birdie (meaning I eavesdropped on the Mayor again) that the Princess of the Sun and Moon are visiting, along with the rulers of the Crystal Empire. This should be interesting.

Spa- I mean Twilight is starting to recover. Seems like she'll wake up tomorrow. So starting tomorrow, I'll have my own bed. But for tonight, I'll just sleep with Shinji. Tha- ...Sh-shut up! Baka! (*///3///*) The fuck, mate?

A-Anyways, I'm currently balls-deep in food (You don't have balls.) and everyone's having fun. Naru and I have a running gag of quoting random things for the sake of a joke. No one gets it, exactly. Neither do we. We just... kinda did it randomly one moment. One of my favorites is when I told Naru-kun "Please take care of me," in which he responds "Me eat you whole." It was fun.

I received a text from Junpei saying that he sent the other's evokers and clothes, and should be arriving by the 20th, and he should be arriving two weeks after, on the 4th of May.

We were closing into midnight, so we went back to the house. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a streamer. Strange. No pony brought any party supplies. Whatever. I'm tired. I went with Shinji into his room. I told him what I planned to do that night, and all he said was "Do anything funny, and you're sleeping on the couch." I promised to be tolerable and I could just imagine Shinji seeing a halo over my head.

I fell asleep quickly. Starting tomorrow, SEES is back in action.

4/12: A Royal Introduction

Shinji's Room
4/12
Early Morning
Clear

I woke up early and got out of bed. Quickly scurrying up to my room, I found Twilight sitting up. I stood up and knocked on the door.

"Come in" said the lavender Alicorn.

I walked in and started talking. "Good morning, Princess. Did you sleep well?"

"Y-Yeah. Say..."

"You saw an odd creature in your dreams? A... human, perhaps? In a purplish train car?"

"How'd you..."

"All of those of the Wild Card are able to see him. For now, it's you, Narukami, and me."

"What's the... Wild Card?"

"I can explain that." Pico Orphie appears on my shoulder. Twilight panicked.

"Hey, Pico Orphie."

"P-Pico Orphie?"

"Short for Orpheus Picaro. Personal preference. So, Orphie, explain."

"Never call me that again. Anyways, let's start today's history lesson. Get your pad and pen, 'cause this is a lot of info to take in. So, the wild card is the ability to form a contract allowing one to access and summon multiple Personas and switch between them in battle, and the ability to change bonds into strength. The wild card is most closely related to the Fool Arcana, with its Tarot numeral being zero. The term is also associated with the capabilities of Fusion Spells, where multiple Personas are summoned at the same time in order to execute a powerful attack.1

"A Persona is a manifestation of a Persona User's personality, referred to as a "mask" for an individual to use to face hardship. A Persona is similar to a Shadow. Shadows are malevolent manifestations of one's inner thoughts, while a Persona is a manifestation of the same feelings but tamed and trained. If an individual takes up a resolution in their heart, the Persona will undergo a metamorphosis into a stronger form.2

"The Velvet Room is a room located between consciousness and subconsciousness.3 This is where Igor resides. Igor has the appearance of a bizarre old man with a long nose, pointed ears and bulging, bloodshot eyes. He wears a black suit with white gloves. Igor plays the role of Proprietor of the Velvet Room, a space which transcends both dream and reality. As the proprietor, Igor provides insight to the Wild Cards regarding their powers, emotional bonds, and possible dangers that await them in their journey. Igor also provides the vital services of Persona fusion, which allows the creation of vastly more powerful Personas from preexisting ones; and the use of the Persona Compendium, which allows previously created and/or acquired Personas to be recalled at a later time.4

"The current assistant of Igor is a woman named Lavenza. She is a young girl with long platinum hair and golden eyes. We don't really know her well, as we are used to another two, named Elizabeth and Theodore.

"Hope you enjoyed this history lesson. If you wanna learn more about Shadows and Personas, may I suggest Jungian Psychology? Welp, see ya!" And with that, Pico Orphie fades away. I was lost when he said "Tarot numeral."

"Yeah, that makes some sense in this. I think I get it. Also, what is Orpheus Picaro?"

"Well... He's my Persona, but male and of a different color scheme. Narukami's Persona, Izanagi, also has a miniature Picaro version."

"I wonder if I have one... Wha-?" After muttering to herself Twilight was startled. Twilight's Persona, Isabella Bird, appears on her shoulder, but things have changed. Her skin is more green (like this), her hair has a green-silver tint (like this), and the dress is turquoise (like this).

"I am Isabella Lucy Bird Bishop, the Widowed Traveler of the World. You may call me Isabella Delta. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Twilight Sparkle." I am at awe. A quite posh Canterlot accent, holding herself in a confident manor, and wielding the sword with elegance (like Mitsuru). Delta Issy shall be her nickname. "And am I wrong to presume this fine lady-" she points to me "-is the one who beat that horrendous version of myself?" Twilight just nods, starstruck. "Miss..."

"Mikata. Mikata Yuki." I respond.

"Miss Mikata. Thank you for helping my other self here. And, just as a side note, I love the country of which you hale from. Japan must be beautiful at this time of year, is it not? Well, I shall be off. Goodbye." And with that, she fades away.

...

This is kinda awkward.

"Kimi ha ne tashika ni ano toki watashi no soba ni ita
Itsudatte itsudatte itsudatte sugu yoko de waratte ita
Nakushitemo torimodosu kimi wo I will never leave you"

My phone buzzes. "Oh. I'll take this. Will you be coming down for breakfast?"

"Y-Yeah."

SPOILER BARRIER FOR PERSONA 4. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Town Hall
4/12
Afternoon
Clear

Wearing my bright-orange sweater and scarf (it was cold today) and with Narukami in his grey jacket, we went to work with fixing stuff around the grounds. Decorations, systems, lighting, stuff like that.

"Say, why are both of you so accustomed with all this weird stuff?" There's the million yen... I mean million bit question. "I mean, I did some weird shit, but this takes the cake." Didn't know that the Princess'll use such vulgar tones. But if Kirijo curses, anypony can, I guess.

"I'm not accustomed to jumping into the fucking TV, but Naru-kun here is more used to it, since it ended for him back in 2012. Naru, take it away."

"Why are you calling me Naru? Not that I have anything wrong with that, it's just I'm confused as to where the nickname came from. Anyways, me and my friends in Inaba had to deal with a similar incident. It was said that when you look at a TV when it's off while it's raining outside at midnight, you'll see your soulmate. In reality, these ponies shown are what the public want to see of these ponies. They are ponies that have been shown on the news. Yamano Mayumi and Konishi Saki were the two murdered by their Shadows, the thing we fought yesterday.

"On my first few days in Inaba, I met three of my closest friends. Satonaka, Ama- Wait. You all say names first then last, correct?" Twilight nods. "Okay, so I met Chie, Yukiko and Yosuke in school. Yukiko was filly-napped, and we had to chase her down. I learned that I had the ability to enter the TV when Chie suggested that we'd stay up til Midnight to see if the rumors were true. Long story there.

"Our first entry was when I awoken to Izanagi. Our second was when I beat Yosuke's Shadow and he got his Persona, Jiraiya. Our third expedition was after Yukiko was filly-napped. Chie awoken to Tomoe. Everypony else, minus Teddie, was filly-napped and thrown into the TV. We beat their Shadow, they accept it, and they obtain their Persona.

"The last filly-napped pony was my niece and 'Lil Sis', Nanako Dojima. My uncle, Ryotaro Dojima, was in an accident. Nanako... died after we saved her and got the guy who brought her in there out.

"Later on, we learned that the pony that we thought was the murderer, some creep who wanted to rape Yukiko or something, wasn't. And then again to the pony who brought my Lil Sis in there. My suggestion was that Tohru Adachi, an officer, was the murderer. He fit the criteria of being able to move around and meet the murdered without raising suspicion. He was also a pony who my family knows, since he himself must've delivered some letters with no returning address. Turns out he was. And Nanako somehow returned to the living after she died. Don't ask. I learned that Teddie was originally a Shadow, but has now become a dragon with the ability of Persona.

"Tohru was caught, and thrown into the slammer. But it's not over yet. On a skiing trip, I learned that one of my friends, Marie, locked herself away somewhere in the TV world. We rescued her the next day. Then, on the day before I had to leave back to the Capital, I confronted the God of Desires, who shown herself as Izanami, the dead wife of Izanagi. Using a magical ball of energy, I shone through and saw her true self, Izanami-no-Okami. A disgusting version of her fake self. With the powers of my friends, I summoned Izanagi-no-Okami, Izanagi's ultimate form. Defeating her saved Inaba."

"Wow. Pretty long journey you had there" I responded. "Mine is more filled with death."

"You two seem to have quite the journey experience with the weird." Twilight commented.

"Don't get me started on that love hotel. Oh sweet God, if I have to deal with that again, I'll-"

"Wait. Love hotel? What's that?" Ah, Twilight. Blissful ignorance.

Naru and I just sat there, working, not speaking. "Oh. Touchy subject?" We nod. I'll ask Naru for his experience, and I'll tell him mine.

"L-Let's get back to work. I heard that the other Princesses may be arriving soon."

"Wait, how soon?"

"Before the end of the Festival, which is on the 16th. I think, from the sound of it yesterday, it will be today. I thought they told you about that."

"N-no. They haven't. Say, Mister Narukami. Can you ask Risette if she can do a special performance for the Princesses?"

"Well, it's kinda out of the blue, but we have been working on a special routine. I'll ask her tonight at the motel."

"Thank you, Mi-"

"Just Narukami's fine. Or Naru, as Yuki here calls me." I give a playful smirk to Naru-kun.

Entrance to the Everfree
4/12
Evening
Clear

I adventured around town before the evening festival began. I'm starting to like being in a smaller town. All the shops are unique, and I know where to go. I found the weapons salespony, a jail (if there's a murderer or something), a clinic, schoolhouse, arcade, bowling alley, restaurant, general store, and a gym. Perfect. A place to get weapons, medicine, general items, and to upgrade my Persona stats. Also a place to do challenges and stuff. I might also get a part-time job or something.

I heard something in the distance. I look up and see a chariot coming down. Looking down, I see a lot of wheel marks and hooves here, so this must be a landing area of sorts. I move about 20 meters away and hide in a bush. As I thought, the Princess of the Sun and Moon have landed. I heard a loud screech, meaning a train arrived at the station. The timetables say that a train shouldn't be arriving for another 2 hours or so, so that must be the Princess of Love. I get out of my hiding place and try to sneak away, but my phone buzzed.

"I stole the moon
I drove through that bleak December
Baby, baby, just for you."

I quickly muted my phone, cursing at myself. I then hear somepony ask "Who's there?" I then feel eyes on my back. I quickly turn around to see them face to face. Apart by 20 meters.

It's as the stories say. Celestia, the older of the two, looks more professional for the job. Luna, the younger, looks inexperienced. Both have this immense beauty with a suffocating aura around them. Their eyes shine confusion.

"K-Konbanwa. Watashinonamaeha Yuki. Yuki Mikata. Anata no shiriai o tsukuru yorokobi." I bow. They looked at me with confusion. Oh. Right. Ponish. "Good evening. My name is Mikata. Mikata Yuki. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." I'm panicking. I'm letting some Neighponese slip in.

"A pleasure. I am Princess Luna. Am I to presume that you are the new pony who moved into this town?"

"H-Hai. I have moved here from Neighpon and have assisted Ojo Twilight Sparkle with some odd jobs." I'm dying on the inside.

"You know Twilight?" Celestia asks. I can see a hint of happiness. She must be glad I'm making friends with the townsfolk so quickly.

"Yes." I'm actually talking to them.

"Does she know that we are here?" Luna questions.

"Īe. She does not."

"Thank you, Miss Yuki. May we meet again."

"Anzen'na ryokō. Safe travels." Aaaaaaaand they're gone. I feel like they might be some helpful friends in the future. I shake my head and head back into the sleepy town.

Except it's not so sleepy anymore, with the festival and all.

As everypony's having fun, I trot up to Naru-kun, who's talking to Twilight. "The Princesses're here. I panicked when talking to the Sun and Moon, and let some Neighponese slip in."

"The Princesses are here? Already?" Twilight says, panicking. Naru just shakes his head on the Neighponese slip-ups I did.

"Yeah. The three of them're right behind you." And there they are. The Princess of Love, her husband, and their child are there as well. I whisper into Naru-kun "Shall we leave them be?" He nods, and we slip out. Before we could, however, the leaders of the Crystal Empire stop us.

"We heard there was something going on here in this town. A... filly-napping, if you may." Shining Armour stated in his somewhat scratchy voice. "And I heard you helped out with that filly-napped pony, am I right?" We nod and he smiles. "I know we should normally leave this to the Royal Guards, but you two seem to have experience with this, so, on behalf of the Crystal Empire, I, Shining Armour, shall help you whenever I can." With the assistance of a former Royal Guard Captain and a Prince, I feel like this may assist us in fighting the Good Fight. His friendship is nice and comforting, somehow making friends with royalty and her family.

[GLASS BREAKING SFX]

I am thou, Thou art I
Thou has forged a new bond

It shall guide thee closer to the Truth
And shall assist in dispelling Falsehood and Death

We grant thee the power of the Emperer
Use this power wisely

I bow, along with Naru. "Say, didn't Ojo Twilight say something about a performance?"

"Oh, shit! I-I gotta tell Rise. Sayonara!" Naru runs off with that.

"Rise? Like Risette?" Cadence asks. The alicorn in her hooves (Is that the 5th alicorn I've heard of?) is just suckling on her hoof.

"Yeah. Are you a fan, Princess Cadence?"

"I very much am! Oh, the sweet melody of Kimi no Kioku, the amazing jazz of Signs of Love, and the Shadow World!" Shining just smiled at her. I can tell, even though she's supposed to be a Princess and hides her true nature, she's just a youthful filly at heart.

[GLASS BREAKING SFX]

I am thou, Thou art I
Thou has forged a new bond

It shall guide thee closer to the Truth
And shall assist in dispelling Falsehood and Death

We grant thee the power of the Emperer
Use this power wisely

"Well, we should be going. It's been a long ride, and I think Flurry Heart needs some rest." As Cadence says this, Flurry yawns somewhat adorably.

I wave then goodbye, then head off to my house. I need sleep too.

This feeling...

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

"Hi, Igor. Lavenza." I nod in both of their directions.

"You are quite interesting. Even though you have bonds already forged with all of the Arcana, you are still able to forge them again with new people. Interesting." She opens the Compendium and out comes three cards I'm not exactly used to. "Ah, the designs of the Arcana have changed. This is the Fool-" she shows me the card from the previous chapter "-the Emperor-" she shows me the corresponding card "-and the Lovers." She shows me the corresponding card from this chapter. "With these new friends, you should be able to fuse even more powerful Personas.

"The Personas of the Fool Arcana can have any skill, from healing and status effects to the instant killing Light and Dark skills. The Emperor can hold physical skills and Zio skills. The Lovers may have healing and status effects. They may also have Garu skills."

Igor now resumes talking. "Now, to find us, simply go to Town Hall or the Other World. The blue doors you're accustomed to will appear to you, Yu Narukami, and Twilight Sparkle. You three are the only ones that can access this realm. The next time we meet, it will be when you unlock another of the Arcana's Secrets."

With unison, the state: "Until we meet again."

Author's Note

Exposition Center here!

1 Taken from the Megami Tensei Wiki for the Wild Card
2 Taken from the Megami Tensei Wiki for Persona (concept)
3 Taken from the Megami Tensei Wiki for the Velvet Room
4 Taken from the Megami Tensei Wiki for Igor

Romaji (Japanese):
Kimi ha ne tashika ni ano toki watashi no soba ni ita
Itsudatte itsudatte itsudatte sugu yoko de waratte ita
Nakushitemo torimodosu kimi wo I will never leave you
English:
I know for a fact, you were there by my side
You were always always always there, smiling
If ever I lose you, I will find you, I will never leave you

4/13: FEStival

???

"So, you're telling me that bitch is here?"

~~"~~Why ~~would~~ I ~~lie~~ to ~~you?"~~

"Good point. Do you know about... there?"

~~"~~Cognition? ~~Yeah,~~ I ~~know~~ about ~~that.~~ What ~~about~~ it?~~"~~

"It seems to hold the power to solving this. If even one of them dies in there..."

~~"~~Panic ~~will~~ settle ~~in!~~ Beautiful ~~plan,~~ Sho ~~Minazuki."~~

"Heheheh."

Home
4/13
Morning
Partially Cloudy

My ears were blasted with beautiful jazz this morning. Somepony must be playing it nearby. I wonder who it is. Hopping out of bed, I grab my mp3 player with earphones and leave. Shinji's listening to the jazz song. He's in a simple pink apron with strawberries covering his neck. It's adorable. Walking out, I swear I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A glint of something metallic. A sword, maybe? Or... something else? When I turned to look at it, however, it wasn't there. 'Wait. Why am I going out?' I dunno. Maybe ask your boyfriend if he needs something? Like help or ingredients? 'Good point.'

Walking back in, I ask Shinji "Hey, Shinji. You want some help or something?" A tad bit direct, especially to somepony who pummeled some crazed druggie behind the Iwatodai Station, but I know Shinjiro.

"Yeah, there's somethings I'm missing. I'm gonna try to make some Equestrian cuisine, but I'm missing..." He then lists off quite a few ingredients I'll pick up for him. I tell him that I'll get the stuff, and I'll be back in about an hour or so. It's about 9 A.M., so the stores should be open. I bid Shinji goodbye, then leave for the food.

I met Naru when on my way to pick up some tomatoes (I didn't think to buy them, but if Shinji asks me to get them...), so I greeted him. "Hey, Naru-kun! Did Rise say yes?"

He nods. "She accepted to do the new routine. Say, are you a good dancer?"

"I've casually done it a few times. It's a really good stress reliever when I'm doing ballet or some modern dance moves. Why'd you ask?"

"Because I really want you to be a dancer for three songs. Maze of Life, Studio Backlot Lotus Juice Remix, and a song in the new album Rise's releasing today. No one else is willing to or has something planned for tonight, so I'd really appreciate it if you'd accept."

"This is kinda out of left field, but yeah, I'll do it. Let me get Shinji his ingredients, and I'll see you about that dance routine. I think I'll catch on quick."

"Oh, thank you! I owe you one, Yuki-senpai!" Naru-kun bows.

"W-why'd you call me senpai?" I feel like a tomato.

"You're older than me and you're more experienced with Shadow fighting."

"G-Good point, but let's not use honorifics, okay?"

"Sure. Well, see ya, Yuki!"

"B-bye." I wave as Naru-kun walks away. That was... an experience. Never thought I'd be called "senpai", but whatever. I shake my head and walk off to pick up those damn tomatoes.

Motel Room
4/13
Daytime
Partially Cloudy

Rise and Naru used one my favorite song named "Wiping All Out" to see if my dance skills are good. They were, naturally. So, with that, they trained me to do the dance routine for two of the songs. They said they haven't thought of a dance routine for the 3rd, so I should just dance along as best as I can.

"Alright, take a breather!" Rise's words were just the words I needed. I collapsed on the seat closest to me.

Gasping for breath, I say "That... hurts... my everything... Oh, God..."

"You weren't kidding when you said 'casually' earlier," Naru-kun says.

"I haven't... done this... much exercise... since I was... on the Girls... Tennis Team..."

"Don't worry. You're doing well. Almost like Nanako."

"Oh, yeah! Kanami said Nanako almost perfectly danced a dance she practiced on for months on end!"

"Woah..." I wipe my brow. "So... When's the... performance?"

"In about 5 hours. Oh! We don't have a uniform for you!"

"No worries!" shouted somepony's voice. The pink pony from the 8th popped out of nowhere and shoved me some clothes. "I asked Rarity to make this for you, knowing this'll happen!" She let out a "Squee!" as she smiled.

"Thanks... Pinkie... was it?" She nodded. "Thanks, but... How'd you... get here? And how did... you know this'll... happen?"

"I call it the Pinkie Sense. Essentially, I can bend reality to my whim." Naru-kun and Rise are obviously thinking "What the actual living fuck is she going on about?!"

"Ah, that makes sense." They hit me with that look. "I've dealt with creatures... like that. World-bending powers that can essentially... destroy a town. Say, don't you have something... planned?"

Pinkie gave out a gasp. "You're right! I have a party to plan! Thanks for reminding me! See ya!" Pinkie then just popped out of existence. I was somehow lucky for reminding her about that party. I just look at my friends and hit them with a "I have no idea what the fuck just happened" look and shrug. I just regained my energy.

"Let's get back to practice, eh?

Town Hall
4/13
Evening
Clear

I fucking love the costume this Rarity designed for me. The linen overcoat reminds me of my Gekkoukan uniform I wore 7 years ago, but unzipped. It even has the Gekkoukan Private High School logo on it. The inner, soft and (almost permanently) cool polyester shirt says "REMIX" in blue within a blue circle. A blue bengaline ribbon is tied to my neck, pointing to my left. I have a black challis skirt covering my flank with long black socks on my hind legs. I let my hair loose, so my ponytail, my tail, and my mane are more lax and flowing than I'd normally have it, and it feels great. The entire suit feels great. I must give compliments to Rarity after the show. And Andre "Bebe" Geraux for the info of types of cloths at Home Econ.

It's almost showtime, and the Princesses are to watch. It's also free to watch, so anypony can just waltz in and waltz out whenever they want. I'm so nervous, yet excited. "It's called "Nervoucited", Mikata!" P-Pinkie?! Are you in my thoughts? "Yeah. This happens accidentally. I'll leave now." Pinkie, wai- She's gone. Well... I'm even more nervous.

"Yuki, showtime," Naru-kun tells me. I nod and follow him, but stop short behind the curtain. I let Naru and Rise do the talking.

"Hello, everyone! Today, our dance routine happened because... Uhm... Lotus, why did we do this today?" Rise stumbled on her words.

"Today, we're doing this because a certain princess wanted us to, Risette. How could I deny?" Lotus responds to Risette.

Pulling my earphones on, I step out on stage. "Can we get this show on the road? C'mon, let's go!" I tell my teammates. I want to get this over with. I spot my friends looking at me in disbelief. I smile and nod their way.

"Right. Let's go!" Lotus shouts, before Maze of Life plays. Dancing along with Lotus Juice was surreal, to say the least, but was fun. I sang the background lyrics in Studio Backlot LJ Remix and danced when Risette sang the chorus. Otherwise, I wasn't in the foreground that much. Until the 3rd song. Naru and Rise told me beforehoof that I'll be the lead dancer in their next song.

Everypony clapped after Studio Backlot LJ Remix, and we waited for them to calm down. "Thank you! Now, I would've waited until a few days before the album came out, buuuuuuuuuuuut... Lotie here wanted me to debut the main song for the album today, sooooooooooooooo here we are!~" As the crowd gives a collective chuckle at that, with someone shouting "Classic Risette!", Lotus and I give Risette the "What the fuck?!" stare. She just gives us an innocent smile and turns back to the crowd. "Here is the main song of my new album, published by Takura Productions, and what the album is named after. Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There!"

It begins. Trying to keep up, Rise begins.
Who am I?
Am I not unique?
Maybe I'm not here at all
Look, the fakers
Blinding us with lies
The breakers of us all

Oh, it's useless Yeah, right, it's useless.
What could it mean that we're here? What does it all mean?
Can we make a difference Any form of difference?
If we don't break outa here?

Wake up, get up, get out there
Raise your voice against liars
Feed your anger like fire
Why does nobody want change?

Just imagine you're out there
Swatting lies in the making
Can't move fast without breaking
If you hold on life won't change

The fakers
Are all sick at heart
Their faces hiding their fear
They look down on
All the rest of us
Like they're some special breed

Who's the high lord No, uh.
Who thinks he's better than us? Who is in big time?
Ain't it a crime, that? As if he'll take us down
Is there a mission for us?

Who is that high lord... Who is the one up there?
Who'd kill a million of us? Alright? Alright.
And as the bell tolls
Is there no remission for us?

Wake up, get up, get out there
There's more to life than their way
If you'd live you can not stay
Why does nobody want change?

Let your voices ring out, yeah
Take the mask off and be free
Find yourself in the debris
If you hold on life won't change

Wake up, get up, get out there Wake up, get up. C'mon, get up
Raise your voice against liars Against all, the liars
Feed your anger like fire Like fire
Why does nobody want change? Why does nopony want change?

Just imagine you're out there You're out there!
Swatting lies in the making
Can't move fast without breaking
If you hold on life won't change

I took a pose at the end of it, pointing one unsocked hoof up with the other placed over my heart. The two socked hooves are planted in a way for me to balance on them no issue. Everypony, including the Princesses, clapped. Looking at the Princesses, they're clearly impressed, as they have small smiles on their faces. I sit down on the stage, tired. "Yeah!"

After getting my breath back offstage, I walk out of Town Hall. Stretching my back and feeling those knots pop satisfyingly, I say "That was oddly satisfying. No wonder you two really love your jobs."

The two of them nod (in perfect sync, might I add), and said in unison "Just by seeing the smiles on the crowd's faces makes this job worth it." It's kinda creepy that they'd say it at the exact same time with the exact same tone of voice.

Before I could comment, a hooded pony bumped into me. (S)He ran off. I know this trick. Tapping around my body, I see that I lost none of my possessions. If (s)he was a pickpocket, (s)he sucked. Like badly. Thinking about it, the way (s)he was walking and holding him/herself, it's definitely a him.

We all just looked, perplexed. I felt a familiar energy surrounding that pony. Almost like... Aigis' power of the Aeon. I'm sure I'll bump into him again. "L... Let's go. I'm way too tired for this shit right now."

Waving bye to Naru and Rise, I stumble towards my home. Trotting up, I face-plant on my bed. I feel like I'm dying.

???

"Ya got anything?" I ask my associate.

"Yeah. One of those children down there has a cousin he cares about dearly coming to town. Use her as a message."

"Good plan, but suggestion: you should really get that mic fixed. It's glitching every other word now."

"Shut up, Sho."

I just grunt.

Author's Note

You see what I did there? FEStival? Persona 3 FES?

Lyrics in bold are Lotus' lyrics. Lyrics in italics are Risette's lyrics.

4/15: A Revelation & Games

Home
4/15
Daytime
Mostly Clear

I decided today would be the beginning of me playing online games. Or at least try to. I dusted off an old laptop and prayed to all the deities that ever existed in Neighpon, or as Delta Issy called it, "Japan", that there's at least one Internet company in Equestria. Equestrians are somewhat behind in the technological space, but they aren't strangers to external tech.

"C'mon..."

"C'mon..."

"C'mon...!"

"C'mon!"

...

"YES! OH, FU-" I was so happy I fell out of my inflatable gamer chair. Why do I even have this thing? Well, whatever.

"The hell happened here?" Shinji was at the door, confused as all hell.

I placed an order for somepony to come by our place on the 19th, which is a Wednesday. Now, what to do? Hmm... Arcade? Arcade.

Quickly grabbing some bits for the arcade, I quickly leave the house to have some fun.

Before I make it to the arcade, however, I spot Naru with two pegasi. One is a young orange pegasus filly, about 13 years old or so. She's wearing a white dress that fades to a dark pink. The other is an older grey pegasus stallion. He's wearing a grey dress shirt with a jacket hanging over his back. A cigarette is in his mouth. Luggage is with them. They both have some brown as the color of their mane and tail. The filly's mane is kept nice and tidy, while the stallion's is more unkempt and messy. From the fact that Naru and the two pegasi have the same eye color of a lively grey, and they look happy being together, I am to assume that they are Nanako and Ryotaro Dojima, Naru's "Little Sister" and uncle respectively. Jumping into a nearby bush, I eavesdrop on them.

"...and we've been quite successful as of late." Naru-kun finishes his statement.

"Thank you again for taking up my offer, Narukami-san. Once I find him, I'm gonna make him pay here in Equestria." Dojima-san mutters.

Dojima-chan giggles. "Yeah, dad!" She then hits a more somber tone. "Mom's been dead for so long. It's time for the killer to face the music." Ah, so that's what's going on. Someone killed Dojima-chan's mom, so they've been searching since then for the killer. A good chance it's a hit'n'run incident.

"We've narrowed it down to a few ponies. All of whom are going to the show tomorrow." Naru-kun hands a folder to Dojima-san. "Here are the files I've obtained during the tour around Equestria. And there's one more thing." Dojima-san raises an eyebrow. "...The Princess of Friendship, Sparkle Twilight-shi, has been filly-napped and sequentially saved."

"Th-That's impossible! If somepony filly-napped the Princess, he or she is a major threat! We need to track them-"

"The Princess is safe, Uncle. I made sure of it. I'm sure a certain Naginata wielder can explain better on what the hay happened. Yuki-senpai? If you would stop hiding in the bush, I'd like to introduce you." Naru-kun then turned to me. Fuck. The jig is up. I slowly trot out of the bush.

"H-Hi." I mutter in Ponish.

Dojima-san raises an eyebrow. "Senpai? As in, you look up to her?" Naru nods. "What would she do that makes you of all ponies look up to her?"

"We had to fight a set of ponies keeping the Princess hostage," I lie in Neighponese. "By hitting weak points all over their bodies, I can knock them out quick but keep them alive for interrogation. The boss, however, killed his men and himself before we could capture any of them." I'm a good liar, and nopony can tell if it's a lie or the truth.

"Wow, she must be strong! Hi! I'm Dojima Nanako, Big Bro's cousin! Call me Nanako. And this is my dad, Dojima Ryotaro!" Doj- Nanako says. Well, if she says so.

"Nice to meet you, Nanako." I shake her extended hoof. "I am Yuki Mikata. Call me whatever you'd like." I then look up to Dojima-san. Oh, boy. This may take a bit. I'm gonna die writing this. I'm gonna die listening to this.

"Well, first. Thank you for helping out my nephew. Like my daughter said, my name is Dojima Ryotaro." I shake his hoof. "Secondly, what were you doing in that bush?"

And I've got the perfect lie for that. "Some of my bits fell in the bush, so I went to go pick them up. It took longer than expected... Oh, there's one!" A bit was lying in the bush, near where I left. I levitated it and put it in my coin purse.

"Okay..." It was convincing enough, and with my current level of Charisma, I was able to pull it off. I'm safe.

Then I remembered that whole deal with the Hanged Man and Death, so I activated Arcana Checker, which is how I was able to tell the Inaba Investigation Team was the Fool Arcana. And just like that, I see that Narukami is the Hanged Man. So somepony close to Narukami may die. But who? I also see that Dojima-san's arcana's the Hierophant and Nanako's... fading between Justice and Strength? That's... odd... Never seen this before, but I'll save that for Igor.

Fading back into existence, I hear "...and that's how she saved me and the Princess."

"Oh, really now? Heh, maybe you can marry Yuki-san instead of Kujikawa-san?"

"I'm taken." I say in reflex.

"O-Oh. Well, I'll be taking our stuff to the motel room. Nanako, do you want to see the room?" Nanako's face lit up like a candle and followed Dojima-san to the motel. I sigh.

"Naru-kun. Let's go visit the Velvet Room, shall we?"

"Wait, where can we enter the Velvet Room?" Naru-kun asks. I guess Igor forgot.

"Follow me."

We reach the Town Hall, and to the right of the entrance, there's the door to the Velvet Room. As we get closer, our respective keys glow stronger. We touch the door together, and...

The Velvet Room

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, you two." I turn my head to the left, and Narukami's with me.

"What would you like to do?" Lavenza asks. Narukami requests for Persona fusion (I'm guessing he must've gotten Shuffle Time when we beat the Arcana Boss, but I wouldn't know.

"Hey, Igor. I've got a question." I tell Igor.

"And what might that be, Miss Yuki?" Igor responds.

"When I activated Arcana Checker, somepony's Arcana was blending between the Justice and the Strength. Can you tell what's going on?"

"People change. And with that, their arcana may change with them to better suit it. The pony you must be talking about must have been originally one who is a good sign of justice, but now shows more compassion and is more emotionally strong because of it." It does seem like it's very likely that that's the logical explanation to this.

"Thank you, Igor. That answers my questions. I'll be going now."

"Until we meet again, Miss Yuki. Farewell."

Home
4/15
Daytime
Mostly Clear

When I fade back into reality, Naru looks like he's happy with his fusions. "I've got some classics I'm gonna try out when we go back into Cognition." I nod, knowing full well what might happen. The reason Nanako's Arcana's changing constantly, beyond the reasoning Igor gave, is that she's the one who'll get sent to Cognition next. But, instead of doing anything, I'll let nature take its course.

"Say, Naru-kun. Let's go check our TVs tonight. I've got a strange feeling something's gonna happen." I suggest. She's gonna get filly-napped tonight and sent, then we'll have to save her before tomorrow night for the festival.

"Yeah, I got the same feeling. I'll check."

"Thanks Naru-kun. Well, I'm off to play games at the arcade. Wanna join?"

"Nah, I'll pass. I need to prepare for tomorrow. Both in combat and for the Spring in Bloom Festival or whatever it's called. I wasn't paying attention."

"Well, see ya!"

"Bye."

And then we part. One to a motel to prepare for a dance, the other to an arcade to increase stats.

Arcade
4/15
Late Night
Mostly Clear

Damn! It's that late? Wow. Well, time to head back. When I enter our place, everyone seems asleep. Trotting up to the door of my room, I'm ready to pass out. I don't even remove my clothes before I pass out.

Author's Note

I'm working on more chapters more regularly. I'm more passionate for this than the "Elements of Chaos" story I was originally writing. I might cancel that. Maybe...

4/16: And From The Ashes She Rises

Home
Morning
4/16
Partially Cloudy

“Mmm...”

”So step on up to the plate
Meet your fate”

My phone’s ringing. I pick it up.

“Hello...?” I ask, tiredly.

“Mikata, you were right! Nanako showed up, and-”

“Who’s thissss...?”

“Narukami. D-Did I call at a bad time?”

”Yeah, she’s pretty tired,” Pico Orphie stated.

“Ah. I-I’ll call later than. Thank you, Orpheus Picaro.”

”No problemo, amigo.” I think Orphie hit the “Call End” button. How can he physically press a button, even though he’s a just an extension of my mental state? Big questions for later. I pick myself up and shake the tiredness from me. ”You okay there, buddy?” I nod.

“I’m just really fuckin’ tired right now.” I yawn. “Lemme get breakfast, then I’ll call Naru back.” Pico Orphie shrugs and disappears back into the ether. Looking over to my clock, it’s almost 8 a.m. Naru’s up this early? Damn.

Trotting down the stairs to the first floor, everyone else is down here eating. Sitting down, Aki asked “The hell happened to make you wake up so early?”

I levitate my phone and dialed Naru. “Narukami called.” He picked up.

“Hey Mikata. You finally up?”

“Barely, but I'll live. So what’s up?”

“Right.” His voice got serious. “Nanako’s gone missing, and she appeared on the TV last night. She must be in Cognition. What should we do?”

Fuck. I forgot to check the TV last night. “We should meet up. Call Sparkle-shi as well. We need all the help we can get. I’ll go and buy my team some weapons at the Weapons shop in town, and pray to every deity in Neighpon that our Evokers phase into existence when we enter. Then, we go in through the main TV in our living room, and go from there. Okay?”

“Gotcha. Alright, setting the plan into motion. We’ll meet up at your place at...?”

“Noon. Be there, or be square.”

“10-4. I’m out.” He ends the call. I tell everypony what’s happening.

“So you said something about a weapons shop in town?” Shinji asks.

“Yeah. Surprisingly, even though nopony in Equestria beyond the Guards and some weapon nuts and my granny own weapons, there is a weapon shop in every town. Don’t ask me why, but it just happened.” I get up. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Wait!” Yukari yells at me. “You forgot to eat breakfast.” Oh. Right. Food. Ya know, for somepony who loves food as much as I do, why do I keep on forgetting to eat so often?

Home
Afternoon
4/16
Cloudy

I got the gang the easiest-to-use weapons I could afford, since none of them (minus Yukari and Aki) have used their weapons after the Dark Hour ended. I got Yukari a professional hunting bow, Aki some simple boxing gloves, Koromaru some kunai (he wields 2 knives in his mouth), Shinji a large metal mallet, Ken a spear, and Aigis, unfortunately, nothing, since the usage of guns isn’t known in Equestria. I also got some Medicine and SP-healing items. Checking my catalog of Personas, I realize I actually now have Jack Frost along with Orpheus. Igor said the entrance to the Velvet Room would be in Cognition, so I could fuse Personas there. And my catalog can still hold 16 max, which is good.

Everyone assembles outside the house. The 8 of the Inaba Investigation Team (Naru told me that that’s their name), the 8 of SEES, and Princess Twilight Sparkle.

I begin. “Any last-minute preparations or questions before we venture into Cognition?” Twilight raises her hoof. “Miss Sparkle.”

“How do you all fight those “Shadows”, as you call them?”

I levitate a short sword over to her. “Weapons and Personas protect us from the Shadows. Talk to Igor for more info on how to get more Personas and about fusion.” She nods. “Alright, anything else?” Nothing. “Alright, let’s go!”

Cognition

Dropping in, we find that my place is exactly how it is IRL, minus the thin fog and leaking blood everywhere. I didn’t notice the blood until now.

“Now that I look at it, it looks similar to the TV world/Now that I look at it, it almost looks like the Dark Hour.” Narukami and I state at the same time.

“Hey! The fog looks thicker around where the school is!” Sparkle announces. Everyone grabs their weapons and prepares for the worst. Vel Vel glows slightly with the Persona spirit raring for combat.

“WAIT!” Teddie shouted, startling all of us. “Wear these. The fog here is the same kind as the one from the TV world where I was born. These glasses are meant to cut through the fog there and give you some sight, so it should work here.” When we put on the glasses, like Teddie promised, we could see so much better.

“Awesome” I said. “Now then. Let’s get to takin’ out Shadows!” We ran off towards the school area.

Arriving there, a large high school similar to the Yasogami High building in Yasoinaba is stationed here. Cherry blossoms flutter down to the ground below. “I don’t think I’ve been to Yasoinaba during the cherry blossom season before” I state. “Last time I was here, it was summer, I think.”

“Yeah. I ran through the records, and I did find Gekkoukan High for the summer of 2009” responded Amagi.

“Yamagishi-chan, stay out here and scan ahead for us. Kujikawa-chan, do you think you can intercept and increase Yamagishi-chan’s sonar range?” I ask.

“I-I think so. I’ve never done it before, but Personas are designed the way they are for a reason, so a satellite dish for a Persona head should allow me to do that, but like I said, I’ve never done it before.” Rise responds.

“That’s all right. We can try now. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Alright team, let’s move out!” We have a battle plan with us. Since there’s now more of us, we’ll have 5 in a party. As leader, I choose who’s in the main party and who’s in the Reserves. I have Narukami with me, along with Kujikawa-chan, Takeba-chan and Sparkle-shi.

It was a fun little grind to the top.

Hacking and slashing through the hordes of Shadows honestly fills me up with energy. Most of the enemies I've known from Tartarus, and I remember their weaknesses. My weapon is a Pierce type, so physical attacks from me won't affect the Bestial Wheel, Wild Beast or Laughing Table, but everyone else minus Takeba in the main party can physical all the enemies and deal some damage. Though Rise can't use attacks from her Persona, she can still Bash enemies into extinction. With Rise's and Yamagishi-chan's assistance, we managed to enter the upper-most level with relative ease. From the look on Naru's face, he seems keen on helping out his cousin as much as possible.

When we reach the top, Naru's steel eyes almost lost its luster. Nanako lies there, on an altar, not moving. "Slowly, folks." I mutter. "A large shadow's here. Be on the lookout." The others, who were following us in groups (I made sure Teddie was in a group of guys) made it up with us, and I told them the same thing. Slowly creeping up, Narukami rests a hoof on Nanako's forehead. Her eyes flutter open when he touched her.

"Big... Bro..." she croaked. Her eyes diluted at the speed of Clint Eastwood, and a large blob skydived towards them at the speed of fuck. Grabbing Takeba-chan's bow, I load an arrow and fire, hoping I could hit it off course. And if by luck, it lands, even though my Perception was low. I guess playing Luck games at the Arcade increased Orpheus' Luck stat, making it land right where I wanted it.

It crash-landed next to them, and inside the blob was... a yellow-eyed Nanako, wearing an unbuttoned Gekkoukan High jacket with her dress underneath. A Shadow. One of its eyes has an arrow lodged in it. Shadow Nanako grabs it and pulls it out.

"Damn, that hurt." Shadow Nanako mockingly cried. "Didn't your parents tell you not to hit innocent little girls? Much less snipe them out of the air with a bow?"

"My parents're dead" I deadpanned.

"Whatever," she dismissively said. She picked up a knife from... somewhere and stated "I'm gonna make you pay." I raise an eyebrow to that. "Nopony's gonna marry my Big Bro but me!"

"You do know that marriage with two members of the same family is illegal in Equestria, right?" Twilight questioned.

Nanako stood up. "Please leave them alone, my look-a-like."

"Why should I do something for a whore like you? Wanting to marry your own cousin, who you even called a 'man-whore'! Why the hell would he marry you if all you've done was annoy him?" S Nanako was starting to raise her voice.

"S-Stop. Big Bro, you love me, r-right?"

"Of course I do" Narukami responded to Nanako's question. "You're my little sister, and I will be with you through thick and thin." He smiles like a big brother should.

"Bleh!" S Nanako mimics throwing up. "Who needs that man-whore anyways? Who needs anyone, anyways. I'm done playing the kind, young girl everyone thinks I am. I am similar to a lion cub. Cute when left alone, but if pushed too far, the claws come out and the teeth are laid bare." The knife is now levitating. "I'm gonna kill all of you."

"No, stop it! I won't allow you to do this to them, me!" Her hooves are spread out, along with her wings, making a small barrier between the knife and us.

"And what're you gonna do about it, then?" Nanako faltered, and S Nanako threw the knife at Narukami, hitting him in the shoulder. Blood gushes out onto Nanako, and the look of horror on her face reminded me of when Shinji got shot by Mr. Revolver Jesus. Ken looked like he was about to throw up. That's how Nanako looks now.

"B-Big Bro?"

Narukami fell over.

"Big Bro?"

No response.

"BIG BRO!"

"Damn, Naru's out. Shinji, take his place. Take out the Shadow." I shouted. "Amagi-chan, focus on healing Narukami-kun."

Nanako grabs the knife and yanks it out of the wound. Amagi bandages up the wound before using SP to heal it. Nanako looks up at the Shadow and starts the "We're gonna go into combat, prepare your asses" moment. "I hate you. I hate you beyond all levels. I'd never harm my older cousin. Because of that..." She looks the Shadow dead in the eyes and points the knife at it. "You are clearly not me."

The Shadow chuckles. "Hahahah... Aha-hahahahahahahaaaaa! Yeah, I'm not you. I'm my own self now! Prepare to die!" The knife in Nanako's hoof fades away as masses of Shadow form around the main bad. Amagi grabs Nanako, throws her into the main party, and drags Naru-kun off to safety.

"What's the boss gonna look like this time, I wonder?" Shinji mutters.

By the Gods. It looks like you took Uke Mochi from Food Fantasy, poured blood out of its mouths and eyes, the fork was splattered in blood, and it was 12 meters tall.

Amagi cried from behind all of us "Give me about 12 minutes. I might be able to heal Narukami-kun to full health."

"Roger. Team, let's go!"

As my favorite song plays, I rush up and start hacking up Uke, as I'll call it. A small amount of damage, but not enough.

"Rise, Yamagishi, scan it!"

"Roger!" both shouted. Shinji summoned Castor and uses Teardrop.

"JACK FROST!" I summon Jack (finally), and blast it with a good old Bufu. It did alright damage.

"It's weak against Zio. Strong against Bash. Light will harm it, but won't insta-kill. Darkness does nothing. Don't attack, Kujikawa-san." Fuuka yells.

"Looks like you're up, Sanada-san!" I yell.

"Right. Polydeuces!" Akihiko summons his Persona to use Zio. Shadow Nanako gets knocked down.

"CHAAAAAARGE!" I yell, rushing towards the 12 meters of bull. When I get knocked back as Uke gets back up, something falls out of my pocket. I don't know what it was, but it was small. Picking myself up, I look off to Shinji's watch. "6 minutes left... Hope Naru's okay." I pop an SP item on Amagi-chan as she was running low. I then turn and dodge as one of the meaty tentacles attempts to carve me a new vag on my forehead. I promptly slice it off. Unlike what I expected, the tentacle doesn't grow back. "GUYS! TARGET THE TENTACLES! THEY DON'T GROW BACK!"

"Damn you, you little shit! Take this!" Nanako's Shadow threw another tentacle at me. I hacked it into bite-sized pieces, and promptly take a bite of one. I then promptly spit it out because it tastes like shit. Akihiko strikes another bolt down, so we go in for the damage. It was now when I realized what happened with the thing in my pocket.

What fell out of my pocket was an old butterfly knife I kept with me. It was the first weapon I used against the Magician Shadow all the way back on my 3rd or 4th day in Tatsumi Port in 2009. It got replaced with a Naginata when Junpei got introduced to the team. But I always kept it with me as a good luck charm/backup weapon. Now, it's in the hooves of Nanako. She flipped it open, locked it, and ran with us during our most recent All-Out Attack. She's dealing more damage than any of us are doing. Probably because the owner of a Shadow is attacking his/her Shadow directly.

For the next like 5 minutes, we continue to wail on it, sometimes using skills or items. It was boring, so I'll spare you on that. But the moment Narukami jumped into the fray, Nanako's Shadow was close to being defeated. "IZANAGI! ZIO!" With a strike of lightning, Shadow Nanako has been knocked out.

"No... Noo... NOOOOOOO!!!! I can't... lose..." The monster dissipated, leaving the form of a young filly wearing mix-matched clothing where it once stood. "Damn it all..."

"You... You're supposed to be me, right?" Nanako asks. S. Nanako nods. The non-Shadow Nanako just sighs. "Listen. It's true that I..." she starts blushing. "...fantasied of marrying my older cousin. And it's true that I'm tired of ponies treating me like some little kid when I'm more grown up than most of them." I look to Ken, who said similar words back in 2009. "...But I've just accepted that I won't marry Narukami. I'm okay with that. But I must prove to everyone that I'm not just some kid to protect. So let's do that..." Nanako's pissed face melted to that of one who has found peace within themselves. "...Me."

Shadow Nanako glows with a blue and yellow aura and dissolves into those colors. When she re-materializes, she looks more like Uke Mochi from SMITE. A slab of meat hangs from the bowl, and she has a Neighponese Okami mask on the back of her head.

"Uke Mochi..." Naru-kun placed a hoof on Nanako's shoulder. She stiffened and slowly turned around. "Big... Bro..." She hugs Narukami hard. Everyone decided to not split them up, so Takeba, Rise, Shirogame and I used our magic to lift the two of them and we left Cognition.

Home
Afternoon
4/16
Semi-Cloudy

Surprisingly, Nanako didn't pass out at all. She's a strong girl, I'll give her that. Pretty sure the exhaustion will catch up during the night, though. It's weird how willpower alone can give ponies enough energy to blast through fighting one's self.

"Alright. Naru and crew oughta prepare for tonight. It's already 3, so you have about 4 hours of prep time." I stated. It was now of all times when Nanako finally passed out.

Naru-kun caught Nanako, and asked me "Yu- Mikata. Can you drop off Nanako with Dojima-san? It'd be a great help."

"Sure. Why not." I pick up Nanako and the Investigation Team left. Heading with them, I ask Naru-kun a question that's been nagging me. "Say, Naru? Did Nanako tell you about the... marriage thing?" Rise looked like she wanted to know as well.

"Y-Yeah. That was 5 years ago, though. She didn't understand the concept of marriage properly. But right now... I don't know what to think." Naru used his right wing to pinch the bridge of his muzzle. "When she wakes up, I pray she explains herself. Though this'll be hard for her, I can tell..." We made it to the motel. It was rather simple. It's essentially 6 rooms set up side-by-side, so you can see the 6 doors. Naru pointed to 5 and said "Dojima-san'll be in Room 5. The guys'll be in Room 2, and the girls'll be in Room 1, as you know. See ya."

Hanamura-kun walks up and quickly whispers into my ear "Never mention today again. Narukami's got some... issues with what Shadow Nanako said. Just trust me on this." He backs off and walks into Room 2, waving with a wing. I take a deep breath when everyone from the Invest Team entered their rooms and knock on the door.

Dojima looked horrible. Like his unkempt hair was even more messy, his tie was, well, untied, and he looked like he was drinking. A lot. Of alcohol. He was also probably crying or something, because his eyes were bloodshot. I lifted Nanako, and his face lit up instantly. "Wh-Where'd you find her? Ah, I'm so happy!"

He took Nanako into his hooves and she muttered "Daaad, don't... drink so much... You reek..." All Dojima did was chuckle.

"Thank you for f-finding my daughter, Mikata. Also, w-what's up with the glasses?" I forgot I had those on. Time to put my Charisma to the test. I think the glasses actually increase the stat, so I pray that this'll push me over the edge and make things alright.

"I have poor vision up close, so I need to wear these glasses. I was reading a book before Naru-kun told me he found Nanako. She was knocked out somewhere, and I think she was supposed to be sold." My story was bought.

"Wow. Equestria might be a bit on the dangerous side. But thanks f-for getting her out of that p-pickle. I should go freshen up, don't w-wanna miss the show today." He gives a halfhearted smile and trots back in with Nanako in his hooves. I feel accomplished. Smiling, I trot away, when I bump into the hooded pony from over a week ago.

"Sorry" he said, in a deep voice. It's clearly Neighponese. He's trotting away rather quickly.

"Chotto matte kudasai!" I said, which means 'Please wait a moment!*' or 'Wait up!*' in Neighponese. "Anata to ohanashi ga shitaidesu!" Also in Neighponese, which means 'I want to talk to you!*'

"...What do you want?" He responded in Neighponese.

"I remember you from last Thursday (the 13th). Why'd you bump into me, say nothing, and just run off?" I rose an eyebrow.

"...I don't wanna explain anything." he stated. Too bad I'm gonna make him.

"Listen, man. I don't wanna force it outta ya, but if I gotta..."

"Okay, okay. Jeez, woman. I was running back home from a massive breakup with my girlfriend. There. Happy?"

"Very." I don't believe him, but I don't have the heart to tell him that.

"Good. Well then, I'll-"

"Wait. I wanna talk to you again."

"...What?"

"I wanna hear life from a pony's perspective who's lived in Equestria." Even though he's from Neighpon. "So, can we meet again?"

"...Yeah, sure. I have very important stuff to do, so I'll only be able to talk to you on the 16th of every month outside of the Town Hall. See ya..." And he left without another word. Strange pony. But we will meet again, and I'm glad for that.

[GLASS BREAK SFX]

I am thou, Thou art I
Thou has forged a new bond

It shall guide thee closer to the Truth
And shall assist in dispelling Falsehood and Death

We, as the Embodiment of the Tarot, grant thee the uniquely powered arcana of the Aeon
Treat the Aeon with respect and dignity. Use this power very wisely.

A unique message? That's cool! So I know for a fact he's the Aeon. Unique. Well, probably should go and prep up for tonight.

Town Hall
Late Night
4/16
Cloudy

Nanako was on stage. She danced really well. She also announced she might be joining the Kanamin Kitchen.

Returning home from the performance, I crash into a pony with really soft fur. Like velvet soft. Landing on my ass, I shake my head a little bit. "I'm sorry. Here." A dark blue hoof extends out to me with a... star-white fetlock? Grabbing it, I look up to see the Princess of the Moon picking me up.

"A-Arigato" I mutter.

"Think nothing about it. I wasn't looking where I was headed. Wait, you're that pony who was in that bush." I nod, slowly. She just sighs and shakes her head. "Listen, young lady," she started like a mom who's done with her child's shit, "You know that eavesdropping can be classified as a felony, right?" I nod. "So don't do it again. We're letting you off the hook this once, but I may not be so forgiving next time."

"Gotcha," I mutter, too tired to register the threat. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." I fall unconscious yet again. I really oughta get some sleep before these missions.

Author's Note

Don't question the title.

Took longer than expected, but future chapters may come out faster, because they'll be shorter. Also because I'll have more time during school. Maybe. I don't have Wi-Fi at home now.

*Taken from Google Translate: English to Japanese. If any errors, please tell me.

Also, who's mister Arcana XXII? Guess you'll have to wait. ;)

4/14: A Rare Encounter

Author's Note

Fuck

I'm back.

That isn't a good thing.

Y'all probably doomed.

Story time. Also foreshadowing.

4/14: A Rare Encounter

Home
4/14
Daytime
Clear

It's 12:30 when I woke up. I overslept. Shit.

Smacking myself awake, I (quite literally) roll my way to the bathroom to freshen up. This took longer than expected, and now it's 5 past 1. Fuck. Before I leave, I quickly raid the fridge and pantry to get something to eat. Milk and some cookies. A classic combo. After my quick snack, I cha-cha-slide my ass out of the house, greeting this new day with about as much optimism as Neptune had when she learned that she wasn't gonna be the lead in Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart. Good game, btw.

'Today's gonna be slow,' I thought.

I forgot that I need to talk to Rarity Belle-san and thank her for the costume from yesterday until now. I also might be able to use the costume in that Cognition place...

Costume "(Remix!) Dancing Uniform" Obtained

Now, where is Belle-san? It won't hurt to ask around, will it? I spotted a grey pegasus with bubbles as her cutie mark, might as well ask her. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Yes?" she said in a slow and innocent Baltimare accent. I swear, if she's like Plutia from Hyperdimention Neptunia... Turning around, I saw that her eyes looked in two different locations, but I still felt that those yellow eyes were focused on me.

"Do you know where Miss Rarity's home is?"

"I don't know where her home is, but she's probably in her Boutique right now." The mare pointed somewhere to the Southeast. "It's a blue and pink building over there. You can't miss it."

"Thank you, Miss...?"

"Call me Derpy! Derpy Hooves!" Derpy exclaimed.

"Thank you, Derpy."

"Say, do you want to talk more often?"

"Sure. Where can I find you."

"Hooray! You can find me around here on Mondays and Fridays after school's out. Hope to see you then!" She gives off a cute smile, then waves as I go to Belle-san's Boutique.

Making it to Belle-san's Boutique, I notice a few things. One, it's like a carousel on the outside. Two, it's two fucking massive to just be a boutique (she must live here). And three, I'm starting to wonder if this was really worth it. But, it's too late, because Belle-san spots me and opens the door.

"Welcome to Rarity's Carousel Boutique," she exclaims with energy and with an indiscernible accent. I can't pin it down... I can't tell if it's fake or not. I think it's fake, but I don't know. "Where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique! To whom do I owe the pleasure of meeting?"

"Hello, Miss Rarity. My name is Mikata Yuki. I just wanted to drop by and say "Thank you!" for the dancing uniform Pinkie handed me with."

"Ah, so that's why Pinkie asked me that. Well, come in, darling. We shouldn't talk outside. How does some tea sound?" My stomach growling gave her the answer. "Come, follow me." I follow her in.

The place screams "seamstress". Design ideas and dresses everywhere. There's even some male designs. It all seems... expensive.

"Woah..." I mutter.

"Amazing, isn't it?" I can hear the whistle of a tea kettle. "Ah, the tea's ready. I was about to have some before you arrived."

Taking a sip of the tea, I revel in its simplicity. Over the past 6 years (after graduating), I explored all of Neighpon that I could, sampling some of the richest food and seeing amazing sights. From Tokyo to Kyoto, from Neighasaki to Hokkaido, from Fox Village to Dog Island and Rabbit Island and Cat Island*. The teas of Neighpon were so amazingly high quality. Compare that to the simplistic citrus flavor of Earl Grey. Sometimes simple is better.

(*actual location in the world)

"So, Miss Yuki. I can tell that you are new to Ponyville. Why have you decided to come here in the first place?" Rarity questioned.

"Compared to the complications and confusion I had in Neighpon, coming to the countryside seems better for me. I don't like the crowded streets of Tokyo nor the dreadful history of Neighasaki. Although I wouldn't say I wouldn't mind to visit Fox Village and hear them go 'Kon~'."

"Ah, so you're Neighponese? The land, from what I've heard, is beautiful. And so is the kimono. If you wouldn't mind showing me how one makes a kimono..."

"To be honest, I don't know. Mitsuru-senpai put me in one back in a summer festival in Tatsumi Port, but that was 8 years ago. Although, I can let you talk to my friend, Yukari, who likes reading about fashion. She most likely knows."

"Why, thank you, dear. Do you know where she lives?"

"Yeah, she lives with me." Rarity looks at me with a questioning expression. "...long story short, my friends, we call ourselves SEES, found it easier to live with each other since we all lived in the same dorm back in Tatsumi Port until 7 years ago when the dorm closed its doors for good. Anyways, here's my address. Don't hesitate to come to us in case of anything." I hand her a business card with my current address. It's almost mandatory to have business cards with you whenever you need to do business with others in Neighpon, and since I moved here less than 2 weeks ago, I'm still in that mindset.

"Thank you, darling. Say, I saw you with that pony my little sister, Sweetie Belle, is obsessing over. What's his name? Umm..."

"Lotus Juice?"

"Yes! Thank you. Such a strange name for a pony like him."

"It's his stage name. My friends call him Narukami, since his first name is Yu, spelled Y-U. I call him Naru. Anyways, what about him?"

"Can you ask him or Miss Kujikawa who made those outstanding uniforms? I simply need to talk to that pony."

"I think it's their agency, the... uh..." I fumble to my phone to look it up. "...Takura Productions, based in Tokyo. That's quite a ways off. Are you sure you wish to talk to Takura?"

"I guess it can wait, but as soon as I have time, I'm heading to the Takura Productions office! Can you give me their location?" I guess it wouldn't hurt, so I gave her the address to the office building. "Thank you! Now, I need to have somepony to translate for... me... Wait. Mikata, if at all possible, can you come with me to Tokyo to translate for me? I'll pay, of course."

"Sorry, but I can't. It takes forever to get from here to Tokyo. Maybe Kirijo-san... I mean Mitsuru-senpai may be able to help you. Here." I give her a photograph of me and Mitsuru before we left for Equestria. "This is her. If you find her, which is easy, since she'll be wearing a fake fur suit over a skin-tight fake leather jumpsuit, ask her to translate for you, and don't forget to mention my name. She'll agree to help."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I know her. She gives in quite easily when it comes to learning. She'll get to learn about Equestrian culture and mannerisms, you'll learn about Neighponese culture, everypony's happy." Honestly, I'm clinging to the fact that Mitsuru owes me one, and she's gullible.

"Well, if you say so. Alright, I should prepare for that soon. ...How does it go...? Ah, yes. Arigato."

"Tondemo naidesu. What I did is really no big deal."

"No, see. You're helping me expand my creative reach and producing more clothing options for my customers. They'll be happy to see something exotic." She looked at a wall-mounted clock. "Would you look at the time! It's getting quite late! Perhaps you should return home?"

"Well, like I said, don't be frightened to drop by, friend. See ya!" I trot out of her house. "Oh, and thank you for the tea! It was wonderful!"

"Y-You're welcome!"

Trotting away, I reflect on what happened. I just made friends with one of the Elements, outside of a hostile situation. I may want to ask for her help in the future.

[GLASS BREAK SFX]

I am thou, Thou art I
Thou has forged a new bond

It shall guide thee closer to the Truth
And shall assist in dispelling Falsehood and Death

We grant thee the power of the Empress
Use this power wisely

Well then, new Social Link. Nice.

Home
Evening
4/14
Clear

I'm way too tired today for some reason. I crashed in my bed and passed out almost immediately.

The Velvet Room

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" stated the long-nosed guy named Igor. I nod at him.

"You have made a powerful link with that of the Empress Arcana," Lavenza begins with. "Her name is Rarity. As the Element of Generosity, she'll risk everything for her friends and allies. She's really into gemstones and fashion, to some points in a creepy way, but go past that and there's a generous and genuine pony. Personas of this Arcana may have Bufu skills along with some basic healing skills. Use them carefully."

As she said that, Igor spread out some tarot cards to read my fortune. "Mikata. A massive event is about to occur." He flipped a card which showed the Hanged Man in the inverse position. "If you do not succeed in the next few days, the pony that would be the Hanged Man may lose faith in his life, for..." Igor flipped another card, showing the Death arcana in the upright position. "...Someone close to him will die. Please help this lost soul to continue on the path to the truth. Until we meet again, Yuki."