Zodiac

A few minutes later, Cadance sighs. //They're headed this way. The Shadows are increasing in number...everybody get ready.//

"Get ready with what?" I ask. "We're stuck without weapons. Again."

"I don't even have my whip this time," Pinkie says.

//Do the best you can...let your Persona do the fighting.//

Twilight and Rarity come running up to us. Rarity is staring around wildly at the shifting, glowing text floating all over the place.

"Ignore the texts," I say. "Believe me, you don't want to waste any time reading them."

Rarity shudders, rubbing her left forearm with her right hand. "I...I think I understand..." She frowns. "These texts...they're coming from the other students, are they not?"

"That's right," Twilight says.

Rarity sags. "Was my party really that terrible?"

Nobody answers her.

"I see..."

//No time for that now. Incoming!//

Magarula

A powerful blast of wind sends us all flying.

I pick myself up, readying my phone.

Hello again, Flash Sentry. You and I have unfinished business...

Eris walks toward us, her metal staff in hand.

Twilight stands up and glares at her. "Eris! We've got questions, and we're gonna make you answer!"

Eris tilts her head at Twilight.

I'd really like to see that, Twilight.

Pinkie takes a step forward. "Are you Fluttershy?"

Eris looks at her.

Well, that came out of nowhere.

What makes you think I'm Fluttershy?

"Lots of things!" Pinkie says. "Well?"

Do you think I'd tell you if I was? But I must admit, this little guessing game you keep playing is hilarious. First you thought I was Sunset Shimmer, now you think I'm Fluttershy?

Eris charges Pinkie and sweeps her legs, then plants the end of her staff right between Pinkie's breasts.

Seriously, could weak, pathetic, cowardly little Fluttershy do something like this?

"W-well...when you put it that way..." Pinkie wheezes.

"LEGION!"

Rampage

Legion appears in all its misshapen glory and slams into Eris, sending her flying. Pinkie jumps to her feet and brushes herself off.

Ugh...a cowardly sneak attack...just like I'd expect from Mr. Tit-Grabber.

"Stop screwing around, Eris!"

A terrible, high-pitched, trilling scream fills the air.

//I'm sensing Capricorn! It's...it's absorbing all the Shadows! No...it's been here all along! LOOK OUT!//

We're all knocked off our feet as the Shadows which have been circling the room suddenly all rush together, coalescing into a giant, monstrous form. The front half is a broad-chested, wide-shouldered goat with long, curved horns and a twisted beard. The astrological symbol for Capricorn is branded into the top half of its face, and its maw is full of sharp, rending fangs. Its rear half is a coiled mermaid tail, covered in rust-red scales.

Capricorn lets out a shrill scream, and a barrier made of red hexagonal tiles spreads around the entire hall.

NO! DAMMIT! NO!

"What's the matter, Eris?" Pinkie asks. "Afraid of the big bad goat-fish?"

Capricorn isn't supposed to be able to create this kind of barrier! I...I'm trapped!

"Gee, that must be awful for you," I say.

Maragidyne

Capricorn rears, kicking its hooves in the air, and opens its mouth wide, unleashing a massive blast of fire that catches all of us off guard. Pinkie and Rainbow move to shield Rarity and take the worst of it; they collapse to the ground, blistered and smoldering.

Rarity screams.

//No! They're...they're dying!//

Mabufula

Capricorn swings its tail, unleashing a wave of jagged ice crystals which strike Eris and Twilight. Twilight screams and collapses.

"TWILIGHT! NO!"

Kill Rush

Before I can do anything, Capricorn rams into me, slamming me to the ground. I feel like every bone in my body is broken...

This is it...

We weren't ready...

I'm sorry...Twilight...

I feel something slimy, dark, and wrong trying to crawl out of my skull. Weakly, I reach out and tap my phone. "Persona..."

Life Drain

The new Persona Igor fused the other day, Chupacabra, appears. It sprints toward Capricorn and leaps onto its chest, latching on with its sharp claws and fangs. Capricorn thrashes and screeches as Chupacabra drains its essence.

I feel strength flowing back into my body...my bones don't feel as broken as before. I get up and rush over to Twilight, who's sprawled out on the ground. She's still breathing...

"UNDINE!"

Diarama

Undine covers Twilight in soothing, healing waters. Twilight's breathing becomes easier; I cradle her in my arms.

"Rainbow...Pinkie..."

I look over at Rarity, who's kneeling over...over the bodies.

There's no question now: Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are dead.

"You tried to warn me...you came to protect me..."

Rarity looks up at me. "You...you all came to protect me..."

"Of course we did."

Rarity looks down at Rainbow and Pinkie, horror and dread on her face. "And...and this happened..."

I swallow heavily. "If...if they were still alive...I could heal them..."

"If they were still alive..." Rarity repeats.

The power to cheat Death...it does exist...

Eris is standing in front of me, looking at Rainbow and Pinkie.

"Eris?"

Within Zodiac, nothing is impossible.

I stand up. "How?"

It's a power you have to find for yourself.

Capricorn has thrown Chupacabra off; Chupacabra has faded away, but I feel stronger...

Twilight sits up, rubbing her head. "What...what's going on..." She looks over at Rainbow and Pinkie and gasps sharply, covering her mouth. "No..."

Rarity stands up. "The power to cheat Death..." She bows her head, clenching her hands into fists. "For my dear friends who died protecting me..."

Rarity pulls out her phone, then looks up, eyes full of determination.

"...I will have that power...and share it with all of my friends!"

The Persona app appears on her phone!

"PERSONA!"

Rarity slaps her phone's screen, which explodes in blue shards of light...

The Persona that appears looks like a dark-furred Egyptian catgirl version of Rarity, with pale lavender stripes in her elegantly curled hair, wearing an opaque red domino mask. Her two-piece white outfit is low-cut, accentuating her curves, and trimmed in gold with colorful accents. A gold tiara with an opal at the center rests upon her brow, and three cut diamonds dangle from gold chains attached to a gold clasp affixed to her long tail. For some reason, she's seated upon a giant ball of yarn.

Recarm

Rarity's Persona extends a hand over Rainbow and Pinkie. Glowing threads trail from her fingertips, weaving themselves around Pinkie, then Rainbow. The worst of their burns fade, and they sit up, taking deep, gasping breaths.

"What...just happened?" Rainbow asks.

"Whooooa...my head hurts like crazy...owie...I hurt all over..."

"GIRLS!" Rarity screams, throwing herself at them and wrapping her arms around them.

"OW! Hey! Watch it!" Rainbow screams.

"Oh, I'm...I'm terribly sorry!" Rarity replies.

I pull Twilight to her feet, then lead her over to the others. "UNDINE!"

Mediarama

Undine appears again, shedding her gentle healing upon all of us. The burns Rainbow and Pinkie have suffered heal almost completely, and the girls stand up.

"Did...did we just...die?" Pinkie asks, a sick look on her face.

"You did," I say. "Rarity brought you back to life."

Rarity smiles, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Think...think nothing of it, girls..."

Pinkie throws her arms around Rarity. "Yay! Thank you thank you thank you!"

"So Rarity has a Persona too?" Rainbow asks.

Have you all forgotten we're all in mortal danger here?

We all turn around to face Capricorn, who's thrashing madly in midair and snorting steam.

Pinkie wilts. "Yeah, too early to celebrate."

"I got this," Rainbow says. "NIKE!"

Garu

Nike appears and unleashes blasts of wind at Capricorn. Capricorn doesn't react.

Wind doesn't work on this one. Why do you think I haven't already killed it? I have no intention of dying here.

"Then do SOMETHING to help us!" Twilight yells. "Or are you just going to stand there?"

Fuck off. I told your friends they could bring those two back to life if they tried. What more do you want?

"Eris...look. Either we all survive this and walk away, or we all die. Can you stop being a bitch for five minutes?"

Eris glares at me, but her shoulders sag with a soundless sigh.

Yeah, OK. Here, maybe this'll help.

Eris does something with her phone. Lines of blue pixels rapidly begin to form in front of each of us, resolving into the shapes of weapons: a plain but functional axe for me, two knives for Rainbow, a sword for Twilight, a whip for Pinkie, and a handgun for Rarity.

Twilight stares at Eris as she takes hold of her sword. "How did you...?"

Please. I've known about this place a LOT longer than you losers.

"Thank you, Eris."

Thank me by killing this thing so we can all go home.

Twilight sets her jaw. "It's a mergoat, so let's see how it likes lightning. ATHENA!"

When Twilight taps her phone, the screen, instead of exploding in shards of blue light, emits a ringing chime and concentric rainbow-hued rings of light. What appears isn't the same Athena as before.

The vision of a transformed Athena I saw on Christmas Eve...

Twilight gasps as she stares up at Athena. "What...?"

//Twilight? What...what's going on?//

"Whoa," Rainbow breathes, staring at Twilight's Persona.

"Woooooow," Pinkie says. "Pretty..."

"What...what happened?" Twilight asks.

Your Persona has changed? But that's...that's impossible!

//Twilight...your Persona is a LOT more powerful now...!//

"Really?" Twilight smiles. "Let's find out!"

Zionga

Athena spreads her wings wide and swings her spear at Capricorn. An enormous blast of lightning shoots out, slamming into Capricorn with enough force to blow it clear across the hall. Capricorn drops to the ground, curling in on itself.

Now's our chance! Everyone, together!

We all bull-rush the Shadow, hitting it wherever we can with our weapons, while Rarity empties her clip point-blank into Capricorn's skull. After several seconds of this, Capricorn flails its tail, sending us all flying.

As we pick ourselves up, so does Capricorn. It opens its mouth wide to unleash another wave of fire...

Maragidyne

Magarula

Eris' Persona appears and cuts loose with a powerful blast of wind which intercepts the fire, scattering it before it can strike.

If it's weak to electricity, then...

"TAKE-MIKAZUCHI!"

Zionga

Take-Mikazuchi appears and unleashes another mighty thunderbolt; Capricorn swims out of the way in midair.

"NIKE!"

Assault Dive

Rainbow's Persona appears and performs a screaming dive straight at Capricorn's head. Once again, it moves out of the way before the attack connects.

"This one's good at dodging," Twilight says.

"I think I can do something about that," Rarity says. "BASTET!"

Sukunda

Rarity's Persona reappears. With an imperious gesture, she sends dozens of strands of yarn hurtling toward Capricorn, which wrap around it. It struggles against the yarn, but is held fast.

"Nice one!" Rainbow says.

"Twilight, you're up!"

"Right! ATHENA!"

Zionga

Athena appears again, loosing another mighty thunderbolt at Capricorn. No longer able to dodge, Capricorn takes the blast and is thrown against the wall again.

//Everyone! One more time!//

We all charge Capricorn again, slashing and striking and shooting. This time, when it sweeps us with its tail, we're able to stay on our feet, and Capricorn struggles weakly to get up, its tail flapping uselessly.

We can't let it recover!

"I'll finish this," I say. With a grim smile, I add, "CHUPACABRA!"

Life Drain

Chupacabra leaps upon Capricorn, claws and fangs bared. The girls—even Eris—all flinch away as Chupacabra tears into the Shadow with zeal. Globs of black ichor are flying in every direction, and with every drop of blood and scrap of Shadow flesh Chupacabra ingests, I feel myself growing stronger...

With a final, bleating scream, Capricorn melts into inky motes of blackness.

Rarity blinks. "Is...is it over?"

"Looks that way." I turn to Eris. "Thank you for your help today."

Eat shit.

Eris runs away as Zodiac begins to dissolve around us. Our weapons dematerialize in our hands.

I take in the girls' appearances: dresses torn and blackened, skin covered in soot, blood, and lingering traces of burns.

"We need to get the hell out of here," I say.

"There's a service entrance over there," Rarity says, pointing. We run; the real world is beginning to intrude upon Zodiac.

"Why isn't this all goin' away all at once?" Rainbow asks.

"Just be glad it isn't!" Twilight yells. "We don't need to have to explain the way we look!"

Zodiac is almost gone, and we're close to the entrance to the kitchen...