Persona EG LTE | Mythril Moth Creations

The round blue room and its two occupants slowly fade into view. I feel like I'm floating, as though I don't have a body.

The last thing I remember...

"You have been asleep in the real world for some time," Igor says. "It would seem awakening to your potential placed a great deal of strain upon your mind and body..."

"My potential?"

"I speak of course of the facade used to overcome life's hardships...or, as we call it, Persona."

Persona...

Chiron...

The Shadow...

"Did...did any of that...was it real?"

"Real is a matter of perspective. The mind creates and shapes reality." Igor lays a card on the table. The Fool. "Do you remember this card? You drew it the day we first met."

"I remember..."

"The Fool is an unusual card. Do you know why? It represents limitless potential. Most humans hold within their heart a single Persona. Whether they ever awaken to this power depends entirely upon the strength of their will. You, on the other hand...you hold within yourself a vast number of Personas. That, I believe, is why we were destined to meet."

"I don't understand any of this...what was that thing? What...happened?"

"I believe those explanations are best left to others," Igor says. "We have but a few moments remaining. I am at your service, to help you develop your potential...to help you call forth the many Personas which sleep within you.

"We will meet again soon. Remember that your friendships with others are the source of your strength..."

Today's Horoscope (Virgo): You'll be asked to make a difficult choice today. What you decide will have profound consequences not only for yourself, but for others around you.

Afternoon

"Ah think he's comin' 'round, y'all..."

My eyes hurt like hell. My head hurts like hell. Basically, everything hurts like hell.

A forest of blurs swims in my line of vision. "Flash? Flash! You're awake!"

That was Twilight. "Not so loud," I say. "Headache..."

"Sorry!"

"Girls, could you excuse us?" That's Cadance. "I know you're worried about Flash, but right now it sounds like he needs a little time to get himself together."

"Do you want us to get the doctor?" Twilight asks.

"That'd be great," Cadance says.

I hear the girls leave. I try to sit up, but Cadance holds me down.

"I was starting to get worried," she says.

"What...happened?"

"You've been unconscious for three days," Cadance says.

Three days?!

"After your Persona killed that Shadow, you collapsed. You've been in the hospital since that night. It's Saturday afternoon now."

Persona...

Shadow...

"That was real?!"

"Yes," Cadance says.

My vision is starting to clear a little. I sit up slowly, and this time she lets me. "What the hell was that crazy crap?"

"I'll explain later," Cadance says. Footsteps are approaching.

A doctor enters and spends several minutes examining me. As my head clears, I realize I have an IV in my arm. The doctor injects something into the tube, and the pain I'm feeling dulls. My vision clears up a bit more, and my headache ebbs away into a dull throb.

The doctor leaves. Cadance smiles at me and squeezes my hand. "Now that you're awake, I should be able to get you out of here in a day or two. Rest for now. I'll be back later this evening, and then I'll explain everything."

Evening

I'm not hurting anywhere near as much when I wake up this time, but I still feel pretty crappy.

Twilight is sitting next to the bed. "Hey Twilight," I say.

She blinks. "Oh! You're awake." She smiles. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck, but I don't feel as bad as I did."

She looks down at me, worry on her face. "What...what happened?" she asks. "Cadance won't say anything except she found you unconscious...I think she isn't telling us the whole truth."

There's no possible way I can explain what happened to Twilight. Especially since I don't even understand it. "I don't know," I answer honestly. "The last thing I remember clearly was getting ready for bed after the party."

That part isn't strictly true, but everything that happened after the party is so confusing and strange...

"Twilight? You need to go back to the dorm now," Cadance says from the door. "I'll look after him, I promise."

Twilight looks hesitant, but nods. She takes my hand and squeezes it. "I'll see you tomorrow," she says.

As she leaves, Cadance takes her place. "She's been very worried about you," she says. "She spent most of the afternoon Thursday and yesterday here, and she's been here all day today. The others have been in and out too, but not as much as Twilight." She smiles. "It's pretty cute, actually."

I sit up. "You were gonna explain what happened," I say.

Cadance sighs, looking down at her lap. "Do you use the horoscope app on Canterbook?"

I nod.

"Did your birthday horoscope say something...strange?"

"It said I was going to die," I say. "I wanted to report it to Principal Celestia, but when I was on my way to her office, the app went down."

Cadance nods. "I thought so." She fiddles with her wedding ring. "My birthday is Valentine's Day. That afternoon, after school, I was waiting for Shining Armor...we were just engaged then, we got married in June." Her eyes are clouded. "My horoscope said I was going to die. I tried to show it to Principal Celestia too. The same thing happened.

"Anyway, I was waiting for Shining in the faculty lounge. I was alone. The Zodiac app appeared on my phone. And then..."

"And then...everything got dark?" I ask.

Cadance nods. "And the nasty messages started floating around. Just like the other night." She shudders.

"What was up with that, anyway?"

Cadance shakes her head. "I think...I think it's all the nasty things people say about you behind your back. You know, text messages, stuff they say to their friends when they think nobody can see it." She sighs. "Anyway...I was terrified. I couldn't find anyone. I couldn't leave the school. And then..." She wraps her arms around herself and starts rubbing her shoulders. "And then it started hunting me."

"That thing from the other night?"

"No...that was Virgo. The one that came for me was Aquarius."

"Aquarius..." I frown. "So what did you do?"

"I ran. I ran until it trapped me. I kept trying to call for help, but I couldn't get a signal. And then..." She looks up at me. "And then...I awoke to the power of Persona.

"I don't know how it works entirely, but...I was able to summon my Persona, Aphrodite. It isn't strong enough to fight Shadows, but...it helped me escape Zodiac.

"I was sick for two days after that. I wasn't sure any of it had happened, but...the Zodiac app was still on my phone, and for some reason, I was the only one who could see it. I couldn't convince anyone there was an app on Canterbook that..." She shakes her head. "Anyway...ever since then, I've been able to enter Zodiac at will through the app, and summon Aphrodite using the Persona app. I've been investigating Zodiac ever since. I don't completely understand it, but I've learned a lot." She looks up. "I stay away from the Shadows and use Aphrodite's scanning abilities to learn about them from a distance. I've learned that the appearance of Zodiac changes depending on where you enter from and what time of day you enter, and that there are many different types of Shadow. I've only sensed a few of the really strong ones, like Aquarius or Virgo. They're all dangerous, though. Also, the strong ones aren't always there. I think they only appear when they're attacking someone on their birthday." She looks me straight in the eyes and frowns thoughtfully. "You're the only other person I've ever met who can summon Persona. And yours can fight."

"Hey, I hope I never have to see that crazy place or any crazy monsters ever again," I say. "We nearly got killed!"

Still...even as I say that, I have to admit to myself that I want to know what's going on. What is Zodiac? What are Shadows? What is Persona, and why do I have this power?

"We're the only ones who know about all this," Cadance says. She looks away. "The Shadows...they've killed people. I've watched two people die in Zodiac. I couldn't help them."

People have died...

"Think it over, Flash," Cadance says. "You don't have to decide right away. Just...think about it."

She gets up and leaves. I have a lot to think about...