September 13th, 2019
Thursday
Raining

Trixie went on ahead of Starlight to spend some time in the library before class, which Starlight didn’t mind at all. Unlike Blueblood, she didn’t need Trixie to be tied to her at the hip 24/7, and it was nice seeing Trixie go back to what she assumed was her typical routine. Also, it was raining today, so Starlight wanted to take some time and enjoy the sound of it as she walked to school.

After taking a quick shower, Starlight got dressed and headed downstairs. She expected to be the last one to leave the dorm, but was surprised to see Pinkie Pie talking on her cellphone. She had her back turned to the stairs, and based on her body language was having a pretty serious talk with someone.

“I know you’re trying to help, Fleur, but I-” she was cut off by whoever she was talking to, “N-no, it’s not that. I’m just not sure I’m ready to do a photo shoot like that,” the person on the phone continued, “D-do you really think so? I mean, thank you for that. My birthday isn’t until next month though, so will they-” cut off again, Pinkie Pie sighed a bit before speaking again, “A-alright. If you really think so. Um… I’ll call you after my test.”

Starlight slowly approached Pinkie Pie as she hung up her phone. She seemed really tense. Starlight debated on whether or not to use her empathy to check her mental state, but Pinkie Pie turned around before she could.

“Oh, Starlight! I didn’t know you were still here,” she said, her typical perkiness audible in her voice again. Starlight wasn’t buying it though.

play song

“Is everything okay, Pinkie Pie?” Starlight asked, “I heard a bit of that, and you sounded really nervous a bit ago.”

“Pfft, yeah, I’m fine Starlight,” Pinkie Pie lied, “My agent just called me about a photo shoot she signed me up for. She said it’s a means of testing the waters of the new contract.”

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” Starlight asked, hearing Rainbow Dash come downstairs behind her, “I mean, you haven’t signed anything yet, right?”

“N-not yet,” Pinkie Pie averted her eyes, “But… Fleur’s only trying to look out for me. I mean, I do need a push every so often.”

Something about this did not feel right to Starlight. The way she said that gave Starlight familiar vibes, and she wasn’t happy where they were coming from in the slightest.

“Hey Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash walked over to them, “Are you okay?”

Pinkie Pie huffed playfully, “Yes Dashie, I’m fine. Seriously, why is everyone asking me that today?”

“I don’t know why Starlight asked you,” Rainbow Dash said briefly glancing in Starlight’s direction, “But this morning I saw something I’m not sure I liked. Pinkie Pie, were you having a nightmare or something?”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened briefly before she averted them, twirling her hair absently, “Well… it was a bit of a nightmare, but nothing serious. I get those sometimes.”

No, no, no… not her too. She couldn’t have been…

Rainbow Dash sighed, “Pinkie Pie, I know what I saw. You were crying when you woke up this morning. If you need to talk-”

“No!” Pinkie Pie cried suddenly before catching herself, “I mean… I promise, Dashie. I’m okay. I need to get to school.”

She pushed past Starlight and Rainbow Dash, lightly brushing against Starlight’s arm.

Dashie…! Please help me…!

Starlight’s heart started beating like crazy feeling that. It was just like Trixie. Did Pinkie Pie have it now too…?

“Pinkie Pie, wait!” Rainbow Dash called out as Pinkie Pie quickly signed herself out and ran out of the dorm. Rainbow Dash tightened her fists in frustration, “Damn it…! I need to make sure I’m wrong about this…!”

“Rainbow Dash…?” Starlight asked nervously. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax.

“I’m sure it’s nothing. Just… keep an eye on her during homeroom, alright?” Rainbow Dash requested. Starlight nodded, telling Rainbow Dash she’d help keep Pinkie Pie safe. Oddly though, that didn’t seem to ease Rainbow Dash too much, “I’m sure it’s nothing, okay? But… thanks I guess. I’ll see ya after school.”

Rainbow Dash turned back to Starlight and patted her on the shoulder to reassure her. Instead, the opposite happened when they touched.

I have to keep her safe! I’m the only one who knows!

Urgency, a sense of duty, something that she did not expect from Rainbow Dash. She quickly signed herself out, and left the dorm, leaving Starlight alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that were filled with concern for both of her dorm mates.

Did they… both have it…?

end song

After School

Naturally, Starlight told Trixie about what she sensed off of them as soon as she saw her, and she was just as concerned. Together, they kept an eye on both of them throughout the day, Starlight focusing on Pinkie Pie and Trixie focusing on Rainbow Dash.

After final period ended, Starlight and Trixie turned to Pinkie Pie, who was slowly packing up her books for class. Starlight called out to Pinkie Pie, asking her if she wanted to hang out with her and Trixie.

“Oh, um, sorry girls. I need to get some studying done for my math test. I’ll um…”

“Why don’t we study together then?” Trixie asked as Pinkie Pie rose from her desk, “All three of us have Harshwhinny, so we’ll probably have similar tests.”

“I… I don’t…” Pinkie Pie looked away nervously.

“Actually, I’ll call Dash too,” Trixie said pulling out her cellphone, “I know she needs-”

play song

Pinkie Pie rushed over to Trixie suddenly, “Don’t call Dashie! Please!”

“Whoa!” Trixie cried, “Pinkie Pie, are you-”

“I’m fine! I just…” Pinkie Pie cut herself off, looking down nervously, and it looked like she was trembling.

Starlight turned to the front of the classroom and saw Celestia looking right at them, frowning ever so slightly.

Pinkie Pie composed herself and turned her back to them, “I need to get back to the dorm. I-I’ll see you later…”

Pinkie Pie rushed to her desk, quickly grabbing her books and ran out, just as Rainbow Dash walked into the classroom.

“Pinkie Pie wai-” she didn’t even stop, and actually pushed past Rainbow Dash rushing out, “Pinkie Pie!”

“Hey, are you two okay?” Trixie asked, she and Starlight getting up and walking over to Rainbow Dash.

“That’s what I need to know…” Rainbow Dash growled in frustration, “I’ll talk to you two later. I need to try and catch Pinkie Pie.”

Rainbow Dash rushed off before anyone could say anything. Starlight’s heart was racing. This looked way too familiar.

“They have it,” Trixie said under her breath, “That’s how I was, right?” Starlight nodded, biting her lip nervously, “Ms. Tia! Did you see-”

“I did,” Celestia said walking over to them, “It’s too early to tell just yet though.”

“But you saw them, didn’t you?!” Trixie cried, “They both looked like me when I had it!” Celestia held up her hand, calming both girls.

“I know how you feel, Trixie. Trust me, I’m just as concerned as you are, but we still don’t have enough information. Right now, you two need to focus on Elysium.”

Trixie looked down and sighed in frustration, “Yes Ms. Tia. I understand,” Trixie turned to Starlight, “I’m gonna head back to the dorm. See if I can calm my nerves for tonight. I’ll see you inside.”

Starlight nodded as Trixie left, and then turned to Celestia. She looked beside herself with worry.

“I pray that this is another false alarm…” she said quietly. Starlight took her hand and gently squeezed it, comforting her like last time, “Thank you, Starlight. I’ll be alright though. Be careful in the Phase tonight, okay?”

“I will,” Starlight said, trying to hide how worried she was about Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Celestia must have caught on, because she pulled Starlight into a warm and maternal embrace.

“Calm yourself, my child,” Celestia spoke gently, “If they do have the Nightmare Epidemic, we’ll save both of them.”

Starlight nodded, feeling Celestia’s maternal love course through her. She felt like she and Celestia got significantly closer in that moment. After enjoying the closeness for a few more seconds, Starlight grabbed her books and went downstairs to leave. She needed to get ready for her mission tonight.

play song

“Starlight, wait!” someone called just as she was about to head outside. She turned to see Diamond Tiara running up to her, “Hey, you okay? You look like, totally spaced out right now,” she didn’t know about any of this, and she wasn’t about to try and explain it. Still, she didn’t want to be rude.

“Just… a bit concerned about a friend,” Starlight said, choosing to leave it at that. To her credit, Diamond Tiara nodded in understanding.

“Ah, okay. Well, maybe this can cheer you up. We’re in!” she beamed. It took a second for Starlight to remember, but when she did her heart did lift a bit in excitement.

“We’re in the Pep Squad?” Starlight asked. Diamond Tiara nodded excitedly.

“Both of us made it in! Also, we’re at the top of the list! Seems Suri was a bit more impressed than she let on,” Diamond Tiara said smirking, “I don’t wanna hold you too long, but know that Pep Squad practice is apparently on Tuesday and Thursday, starting next week.”

Starlight was internally really happy that practice wasn’t happening today. She didn’t feel like being around too many people right now with the mood she was actually in. She thanked Diamond Tiara, who hugged her gently.

“No problem. You’re my right hand for when I take over the Pep Squad~” she said jovially, “Feel better, okay Starlight?”

Starlight thanked Diamond Tiara, and watched as she sashayed out of the school, as always flipping her hair arrogantly. Feeling a bit better, Starlight decided to head into town for a bit to calm her nerves.

play song

Since it was raining, Starlight figured it would be a good day to head into someplace quiet and study a bit for her Math Test. She decided to head into the Kami no Tabemono shop, which wasn’t too full at the moment. The owners still gave her the willies, but she liked the quiet and cozy air of the place.

After a bit of studying, she looked at her menu, deciding she wanted to order something. She looked at that one dish, the Nine-Tailed Kitsune Udon. Apparently, it was made with nine different chilies, and was one of a few dishes that was off to the side on the menu.

“Curious about the challenges?” a male voice asked, making Starlight jump with a start. She looked to see the male twin owner standing over her with the same kind of smile as his sister. One that screamed of mischief. It put her in the mind of Victor, only not lust filled.

“Challenges?” Starlight asked.

“My sister and I like to test our customer’s resolve, so we have special dishes that are advanced versions of our normal ones,” he explained, “If you can finish the whole dish, you eat for free.”

Starlight looked at the price for the Nine-Tailed Kitsune Udon, and then checked her balance on her phone. It was in her budget if she wasn’t able to finish it, but how bad could it be? She liked spicy foods anyway.

“I’ll try the Nine-Tailed Kitsune Udon,” Starlight said, feeling confident in her chances. The way the owner smiled sent a chill down her spine, however.

“Perfect,” he said, “Izumi, prepare the first challenge.”

“Yes brother~” his twin sister, Izumi apparently, said perkily, skipping off into the kitchen to prepare the dish. She seemed just a bit too excited for this for Starlight’s comfort.

A few minutes later, right after Starlight finished all of her studying, Izumi came back, carrying a bowl of ramen and setting it down in front of her. Starlight’s eyes were already watering from the smell alone. It looked just like the Kitsune Udon, only the noodles were red, as was the broth they were sitting in. She also saw pits of jalapeno peppers floating in the broth. This didn’t look safe to eat at all.

Izumi handed Starlight a pair of rubber gloves, “You’ll need these,” she said with an all too friendly smirk, “Good luck~”

Starlight slowly took the gloves, thanking Izumi and watching her skip away. She then looked back at her food and swallowed nervously. She’d have to gather up all of her courage to finish this dish.

She took a deep breath, put the gloves on for safety, and carefully began diving into the dish. It occurred to her almost immediately that she might have made a terrible mistake.

play song

The first mouthful of noodles actually burned a bit going down, and she could still feel the spices on her tongue. Even after waiting a few seconds, her tongue still burned a good bit, and that was from just one mouthful!

Starlight could feel eyes on her. She turned to the counter, and saw both twins looking right at her. It felt almost like they were testing her. Maybe they were testing her. Knowing that, she couldn't chicken out now.

She swallowed nervously (even her saliva burned a bit) and ate a few more noodles. Her chest started burning a bit. It was almost like when Morgana first manifested from within her, only this didn’t feel empowering. She almost felt like she was going to die all over again.

No! I can do this! I’m a witch, so I can handle this!

She tried a bit more. Her eyes were watering so much now, and she wasn’t sure she could feel her tongue anymore. This couldn’t be legal, making food this spicy! Still, she powered through as much as possible, not even because she wanted to eat for free. She just needed to prove to herself that she could do this.

The room was spinning a bit. Her head was getting lighter. She looked at herself and started seeing her witch attire appear over her clothes. When she looked at the owners, she actually saw what appeared to be a pair of red fox ears on both of their heads.

Shoot! She was starting to hallucinate!

She went back to her meal, which she could have sworn was bubbling a bit. Was she even still awake, or was she having an out of body experience right now? She couldn’t tell what was real anymore. What even was reality? Maybe Pinkie Pie was right, and she actually was just the main character of an anime.

Starlight gathered her courage and went in for another bite. Everything was fading around her. The world was disappearing as she kept eating. She couldn’t feel her tongue anymore, her eyes were watering so much, she felt like she was crying from how spicy this was. She kept going, eating more and more, until her entire world went dark.

“Looks like you lose this time~” Izumi voice echoed in the darkness.

play song

When Starlight came to, it was getting dark. She felt her head resting on something soft and warm like a pillow, and someone was lightly petting her head.

“Not bad for your first time.”

Starlight opened her eyes, seeing the male twin sitting in the seat across from her. Curious as to where her head was, she looked up a bit and saw Izumi smiling gently. That soft warm pillow was her breasts.

“Comfy?” Izumi asked. Starlight felt a warm blush form on her cheeks as she slowly sat up. Honestly, that was comfortable.

“Drink this,” her brother said, pushing a cup of tea in front of her, “Don’t worry, it’s not going to hurt you. It’s an herbal tea meant to heal you.”

Starlight thanked him and drank the tea. It went down incredibly easy, and she could feel her throat healing. She apologized to both of them for not being able to finish.

“Don’t worry, we knew you weren’t going to make it,” Izumi admitted, “You’re not strong enough yet to finish the whole dish. Iruka and I wanted to see how far you’d get.”

“I’m impressed with how well you did, though,” Iruka said, pulling her dish over to him examining it, “Looks like you at least managed to eat a fourth of it, which is more than most customers can say even on their seventh attempt.”

“Still, a deal’s a deal,” Izumi pulled the check out from between her breasts and placed it in front of Starlight, “Try again anytime. Who knows, you might be the one we’ve been waiting for.”

Starlight wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but she thanked both of them and happily paid for the meal. Somehow, she felt a good bit more courageous, and oddly enough a bit more popular as well.

Checking to see how late it was, she hadn’t missed curfew yet. She bade farewell to Iruka and Izumi, and made her way back to the dorm. She was definitely trying that again one day. No way was she going to let that beat her.

Late Night

The Phase

play song

Starlight told Trixie and Twilight about what happened at the ramen shop while they walked toward the door leading to Elysium. Needless to say, Trixie looked at her like she was insane.

“Why would anyone eat something that spicy?! No, scratch that, why would anyone make something that spicy?!” she asked incredulous.

“Challenges like that are typically to prove that you can do it,” Twilight explained, “Mind you, you’re still insane for doing that.”

“I won’t let them beat me,” Starlight said in determination.

“And you’re going to try again. Of course you are.”

“Well more power to you,” Trixie said, “Personally, I don’t hate my taste buds, so I’ll pass.”

Starlight and Trixie made it to the large golden door. Starlight looked around a bit, wondering if Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash’s Dungeons were close by.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Tia told me about your friends,” Twilight chimed in, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll begin looking for their dungeons.”

“If they have Dungeons, how long will it take to find them?” Trixie asked nervously.

“Well, the system will tell me if a Dungeon tied to that particular name exists almost immediately, so you’ll know if they have Dungeons by tomorrow,” Twilight said, Starlight almost visualizing her shrug, “Now, as to WHERE said Dungeon is will take a bit more time. Once we identified that you had a Dungeon, it actually took close to a month to track down where that Dungeon actually was in the Akashic Records.”

“I don’t want to wait a month to rescue them,” Starlight said, Trixie nodded in agreement.

“Me neither. This time we have powers. Also,” Trixie looked to the side rubbing her arm, “I was kind of a bitch to them while I was trapped in my Dungeon. Please, Twilight, find their Dungeons as quickly as possible.”

Twilight was silent for a bit, probably processing the fact that Trixie used her name. Starlight could feel how much she really wanted to help them, and now understood why she wanted to act so quickly.

“I’ll work as fast I can, okay?” Twilight said after a while, her voice sobered despite sounding like her typical annoyed self, “I make no promises it’ll be quick, but I will make this my top priority when we’re not in Elysium.”

“Thank you,” Trixie sighed. Starlight placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, getting a smile from the magician, “I’ll be alright, Starlight. Let’s do this.”

Starlight and Trixie pushed open the door, running right into the tower.

Malkuth

Lv: 1

play song

Inside the dark gray labyrinth, Starlight looked around and noticed something odd. From what she remembered, the paths looked a bit different.

“What the hell?!” Twilight cried, “The layout changed!”

“Wait, what?! How the hell did that happen?!” Trixie asked.

“It must be some sort of effect of it being a shared Dungeon. I don’t know, but this will make things harder. Hopefully you’ll find a checkpoint somewhere in there. That or a means of skipping floors as we climb.”

“I seriously hope so,” Trixie pouted, “This is going to be a real hassle otherwise.”

Starlight agreed. Still, no point in complaining about it. She and Trixie and Trixie began running forward, being careful not to get ambushed by too many enemies. The interior felt like a maze, which meant finding those steps wasn’t going to be easy.

“Careful. I’m picking up three enemies around the right hand corner.”

Starlight peaked around the corner and saw a large black dust cloud floating ahead of her. Sure enough, she felt three essences from within. She rushed behind it when it wasn’t looking and slashed with her scythe, causing the enemies to manifest from the cloud. One was an Incubus, but the other two were new. One looked like a dark green ghostly horse with a wet mane, and the other one kind of looked like a small plant with a humanoid body and kind of cute face.

“My terminal is marking the new enemies as Kelpie and Mandrake!” Twilight said. Naturally Trixie immediately started throwing cards at Incubus, while Starlight rushed at the two new ones. She tried slashing them a few times with her scythe, and managed to push Mandrake back. Kelpie kicked with his front hooves breaking through Starlight’s defense, and then charged up a spell.

Starlight held her scythe in front of herself in defense, taking a Garu directly. Thankfully she didn’t get knocked down since it was her default weakness, but she did take full damage from it.

Just as Mandrake tried to rush in to attack Starlight, Trixie managed to knock the Incubus off his feet and turned to Starlight’s fight. She threw a card at Mandrake’s face to stop it, and then held up her Channeling Ring, “Light ‘em up, Elenora!” she cried summoning her Persona. Elenora snapped her fingers, casting Agi and knocking Mandrake off it’s feet.

“AGATHION!” Starlight shouted, switching Personas. She figured Kelpie probably wouldn’t be weak to ice, so she tried casting Zio on it, successfully knocking it to the ground. She could perceive lines connecting her to all three of them, but only Incubus was resonating with her directly.

“Up to you how we go about this,” Trixie said, “Take them out, or add one to the team?”

Starlight thought for a second, and then decided to just go for it, casting empathy on Incubus with Morgana. Communicating with it like she did, she felt intentions that were somewhat sexual, but not necessarily bad per say. As long as she kept them in check at least.

After a second, Incubus got on one knee and gave Morgana a dramatic bow before bursting into flames and getting sucked into Starlight’s Channeling Ring. The other two Shadows ran away in the confusion.

“Ugh… of all the ones you had to pick, you went with that one…?” Trixie groaned, “Please, just keep that thing away from me.”

“You sure? You seemed to get along pretty well from what I saw,” Starlight taunted jovially. Trixie’s face turned bright red and she shook her head screaming.

“No no no! Trust me, the last thing I want is to be anywhere near anything with a member that sharp! Touch me with that and I will shoot it off!”

Starlight laughed despite herself. It was nice that she had company in here, otherwise this place would be really-

Starlight stopped when she heard an odd sound around her and Trixie. It sounded like rattling chains.

“Starlight…? What’s that…?” Trixie asked nervously. Starlight shrugged her shoulders looking around, but then felt an odd feeling in her heart. A fear unlike any other.

“Get… moving… NOW!” Twilight cried, “Something big is heading your way, and I can’t tell what it is, but it’s strong. TOO strong!”

Starlight didn’t need any convincing. She grabbed Trixie’s hand and the two of them continued frantically through the maze. It took a minute, but they eventually found the staircase. This time, Starlight and Trixie ran up the stairs without a single word or hesitation.

Lvl: 2

Once on the second floor, the rattling stopped. Also, the terrible feeling in Starlight’s chest went away.

“What… was that?!” Trixie asked catching her breath, “I felt like I was going to die for some reason!”

“Whatever that thing was, it didn’t follow you. Not yet at least,” Twilight sighed in relief, “Probably best not to tarry on individual floors.”

“Lovely, so it’s an ever changing maze and we’re on a timer?” Trixie fussed, “Elysium my ass! This place is hell itself!”

Starlight was inclined to agree. She and Trixie agreed to keep playful banter to a minimum while here, and mostly try to focus on moving forward. About halfway there, they were assaulted by two Silkies. With Trixie’s help plus Jack-O-Lantern, they were easily knocked down. Like before, Starlight could feel a resonance with the Shadows, and thus empathized with one of them.

Oddly, this Shadow made her think of Diamond Tiara.

When she finished communicating with it, the Shadow elegantly bowed to Starlight and Morgana, vanishing into the Channeling Ring. However, Starlight felt something within her stop, and her head felt a bit overloaded.

“I apologize, my pupil, but you are overtaxed. Before proceeding, we must release one of the souls we carry.”

That sucked, but she understood. Each Persona was a different personality trait, right? She imagined that would be difficult to keep track of. Starlight looked within, and decided to release Bicorn. If she met a Social Link centered off the Hermit Arcana, she could always call it back. Either that or if she needed a noble steed to ride into battle or something.

“Was it that devil Incubus you released?” Trixie asked hopefully. When Starlight shook her head, Trixie gave the most adorable pout, “Boo! You got rid of the cool one!”

Starlight laughed, but she and Trixie did continue onward.

Lvl: 5

It wasn’t easy climbing floors of this place, and both Starlight and Trixie were beginning to get tired, both physically and mentally. Coming here was good practice though, which was nice. Still, Starlight was starting to wish there was a checkpoint.

When they reached the fifth floor, they were greeted with a different kind of floor. This one was an open area instead of a maze, and looked almost like an arena. Ahead of them, Starlight saw two things, one made her happy, the other not so much.

A large, familiar looking brown door…

And a large angel in knights armor and with red wings standing in front of it…

“My terminal reads that enemy as Archangel,” Twilight said, “It’s stronger than most other Shadows we’ve faced, so be careful.”

“Starlight, think we can handle this?” Trixie asked Starlight. She honestly wasn’t sure, but she had to at least try. They weren’t getting out of here otherwise, so she nodded as confidently as she could, “Alright then, I’ll back you up. Let’s go!”

Both witches drew their weapons and rushed toward the armored angel, who immediately drew he blade pointing it at them.

play song

Starlight reached it first, clashing blades with it. While she and Archangel pushed at each other’s weapons, Trixie called on her Persona.

“Sukukaja!” Trixie called out, casting a new spell on Starlight, who instantly felt lighter. She jumped back from Archangel, and then did an elegant back flip out of the way as it swung its sword in a wide arc. She asked Trixie what that spell she cast was meant to do.

“I think it increased your speed or something, which I think is a good idea against something like this!” Trixie cried, casting it again on herself. At the same time, Archangel gathered energy into his blade, “That doesn’t look fun,” Trixie said.

“Its attack strength skyrocketed!” Twilight cried, “Do not get hit by that thing’s sword!”

Naturally then, Archangel rushed at them holding his sword ready. Both witches ran in opposite directions away just in time, but then Archangel spun around with his blade, sending a shock wave out all around him. Somehow Trixie managed to jump over the attack, but Starlight had to hold up her scythe to defend.

“INCUBUS!” Starlight cried switching Personas. She saw one of his spells was called Tarunda, and if she was hearing his impression correctly, it decreased the enemies attack for a bit. She wasted no time casting the spell on Archangel, who visibly wilted after the spell took effect.

“Persona!” Trixie cried, summoning Elenora and casting Dia on Starlight, who had once again began clashing blades with Archangel.

“Keep using spells!” Starlight cried, spinning around to swing her scythe in a horizontal arc, “No offense, but I don’t think your cards will do much against it!”

“None taken!” Trixie said summoning her Persona again, “Don’t hesitate to boss me around! I want to survive a lot more than I want to showboat!”

She really put a lot of trust in Starlight. It was touching, if not a bit overwhelming. Either way, right now it meant Starlight could control this fight a bit easier. She had a plan, but it meant she’d have to be the one in front for the most part. First part, she’d need her partner.

“MORGANA!” Starlight cried, summoning her default and favorite Persona to her side. Recently she’d learned a few new attacks, which gave Starlight a few creative ideas. Keeping Archangel locked with her scythe, she had Morgana do an elegant back flip, kicking Archangel into the air. Starlight swung her scythe upward hitting Archangel, and at the same time Morgana bent backwards, opening her torso and unleashing a barrage of black blades from her body.

When Archangel fell back onto the ground, Trixie had Elenora cast Agi on the armored foe. It seemed to do significant damage, but it didn’t get knocked down.

“Persona!” Starlight shouted, once again summoning Morgana and casting Bufu on Archangel. Again, did significant damage, but didn’t knock it down.

“I don’t think this enemy has a weakness! If he does, I can’t find it on my system!” Twilight cried.

“Then we’ll just resort to the most tried and true tactic!” Trixie said summoning Elenora again, “Hit it until it dies!”

She ran in a circle around Archangel and Starlight as they fought close quarter, rapidly firing Agi at the Shadow in coordination with Starlight’s slashes. Archangel pushed Starlight back, and slammed his blade in Trixie’s direction, knocking her off balance.

“I’m the one you’re fighting!” Starlight shouted, summoning Morgana and rushing toward Archangel. Together, she and Morgana slashed and kicked their way through his defense, getting in a critical hit and knocking the large angelic looking Shadow to one knee. Starlight immediately ran over to Trixie and helped her up, asking if she was okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Trixie said dusting herself off, “Let’s get this guy real good with this one!”

Starlight readied her scythe as Trixie held out her arms, and the two of them launched their All Out Attack, which shockingly seemed to do a lot of damage to it. Once they finished, it looked like it was staggering, having a rough time staying airborne.

Starlight had a creative idea. She jumped back, summoned Morgana to her side, and both of them dashed forward back to back, Morgana leading with her bladed leg and Starlight with her scythe. Trixie followed that up with an Agi right into Archangel’s stomach, knocking him onto his back and causing him to disperse.

play song

Trixie fell to the ground in exhaustion, “Fuck. This. Goddamn. Tower!” she cried.

“If this was just the first layer, I don’t want to think of how bad it is going up,” Starlight said, noticing that there was another staircase going up off to the side.

“I really hate to say this, but I don’t think it’s safe to go up any higher without at least a third front line fighter,” Twilight said, “Alright, use the checkpoint to come back here. I’ll reserve one of the two files on this computer just for Elysium.”

“Good idea,” Starlight said, helping Trixie to her feet, “You were great back there. Thanks.”

“Aw, don’t mention it,” Trixie said bashfully, “Besides, the real MVP here is you. Rather, you and Morgana,” Starlight tilted her head confused, “I tried to wrap my head around the whole fighting beside my Persona thing, but I can’t quite get a grasp for it. Somehow thou, you’re able to fight beside your default as if she were a separate entity.”

“From what Ms. Tia tells me, that’s not uncommon for a Trickster,” Twilight explained, “Something about how they relate to their Personas, and the unlimited potential they have. The guy in Inaba we mentioned fights using a similar style with his starting Persona.*”

“Well, it looks really badass from here,” Trixie smiled widely, “See why I believe in you so much, Starlight? I can’t do stuff like that. You’re absolutely amazing.”

“T-thanks…” Starlight said, once again feeling a warm blush tint her cheeks.

“Oh just fuck already!” Twilight snapped. Starlight sighed, sarcastically thanking Twilight for making it even more awkward. What a team she had. What a team.

play song

The checkpoint that Twilight saved took them right to the bottom of the tower, but they’d still have to come to the golden door if they wanted to get to Elysium. Starlight didn’t mind that walk too much though. She rather liked the Akashic Records. She also found that walking through the main hallway seemed to rejuvenate her, as she wasn’t nearly as tired now.

“I’ll get to work on searching for Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie’s Dungeons,” Twilight said when they reached the main plaza again, “With any luck, one of them will awaken to their Persona after we save them.”

“Think that’ll happen?” Trixie asked thoughtfully, “Do we want that to happen? I know we need help, but I’m not sure I want to get them involved.”

“We need new Persona Users, and you’re already friends with them. Besides, if they do have Dungeons, they’re already involved.”

“I don’t like it either, but it is a possibility,” Starlight said, “For now, let’s just get some rest and focus on rescuing them if they have Dungeons.”

“Alright,” Trixie nodded, yawning and stretching in a manner that pushed her breasts forward, “I’m going to bed, Starlight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Y-yeah. See you in the morning,” Starlight said, trying/failing to not look at Trixie’s breasts.

Trixie giggled in a manner that said she knew what she was doing, and then took her Channeling Ring off to get some sleep.

“I’m logging off for now,” Twilight said, “I want to get a head start searching for those Dungeons. You should probably get some sleep too.”

“I will, but I think I want to do some reading here before I leave. It’s been a while since I just enjoyed the library.”

“Well, okay then. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Twilight,” Starlight said before her wisp vanished, “Thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate it.”

Again, Twilight was silent, her wisp not moving at all. Starlight wondered what went on in Twilight’s head a lot of the times, especially when she was being nice to her.

“Good night, Starlight,” Twilight said, logging off immediately. Starlight sighed, a little frustrated with Twilight. Why was she so resistant to being friends with her? In a way, she was worse than Trixie when they met. At least there she had an idea of what was going on.

She had no idea why Twilight didn’t like her though.

Starlight shrugged, and decided to search for a book to read. After looking around a bit, she found books on S&M. Maybe if she read a few of these books she’d be able to relate more to Trixie.

She picked up a book on doms, and another one on subs, and sat down at her usual desk and began reading. Hopefully she could learn a bit about what S&M was supposed to be like, so she could help her friend understand her kink a bit more.

Possibly even show her the ropes herself.

Author's Note

*Twilight is talking about Yu Narukami's fighting style in Persona 4 Arena, for those who haven't played that game.

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