Zodiac

The sounds of the ocean and the smell of vanilla and salt are replaced by a red sky and that eerie, dead noise that pervades Zodiac. I snap awake and sit up. "Rarity. Rarity, wake up."

Rarity stirs and mumbles. "Again, really? Flash, you're—"

"We're in Zodiac."

Rarity shifts around and mumbles. "I'd rather not make love in that horrid place, thank you..."

"Rarity, WE ARE IN ZODIAC. Right now."

Rarity opens her eyes, blinks, and looks around. Her mouth falls open. "What...?"

In my discarded pants, my phone starts going crazy. Similarly, Rarity's phone begins vibrating mutely in her bag.

We look at each other, then dive for our phones. I find mine first and put it on speaker.

"Flash! Are you alright?" It's Twilight.

"Yeah, we're fine. What the hell happened?"

"Flash, there's Shadows everywhere! The entire beach house is surrounded!" She sounds terrified.

//I'm picking up over a hundred Shadows in the vicinity and more closing in fast,// Cadance's voice intrudes. //I'm not picking up Aries—//

It's coming...I had a feeling she'd pull something like this...

The yellow text gives me pause. "Fluttershy? Is that you?"

Yeah. Look...I don't need your help, but you'd better get back here to protect your little harem.

"You're trapped here too, you know!" Twilight says.

My fight isn't with the Shadows. It never has been.

Oh, you'd BETTER worry about the Shadows, Fluttershy. This is what you get for betraying me.

Fuck you, Sunset!

LOL...I can't wait to see the look on Celestia's face when all of you disappear without a trace...

Sayonara...

Blackness wells up out of the blood red sand around us. With a terrifying roar, a lion Shadow materializes. Then another...then another...

By the time I lose count, there are two dozen Shadows surrounding us.

Rarity screams.

"Get it together, Rarity!" I say, tapping the Black Butterfly app. The virtual black suit appears on my nude body, and the heft of the butterfly axe brings a sense of grim reality to the situation. "Gear up and get ready. We've got to fight our way back to our friends."

Rarity stares at me uncertainly. She has her phone in one hand and her wadded-up dress in the other. "But..."

"NO TIME!"

Rarity sighs and taps Black Butterfly. A similar dress to the one she just dropped forms on her body, and the silver pistol appears in her hand.

The Shadows press in around us...

"There's simply too many of them for two of us to fight," Rarity says nervously.

"We'll just have to do the best we can! OZYMANDIAS!"

Matarunda

The great trunkless legs of Ozymandias appear; the Shadows recoil as they're weakened.

"BASTET!"

Mabufula

Rarity's Persona unleashes a wave of deadly ice through the Shadows; they draw back, giving us a bit of room.

I feel an electric jolt down my spine. "Rarity...give me your hand."

"What?"

I drop my axe and hold my hand out to Rarity. She frowns, but reaches out to me...

Her eyes widen as our fingers touch. "What was—?"

I tighten my grasp on Rarity's hand. Our eyes meet, and she nods. We turn to face the advancing wall of Shadows.

FALL OF THE MIGHTY

Bastet and Ozymandias appear above us. A terrible, bitter wave of dust, freezing cold and searing hot at the same time, spreads out from our Personas, battering the Shadows. The mighty dust storm persists for fifteen whole seconds, driving back the Shadows. When the wind and dust subside, all the Shadows look weak and afraid.

I pick up my axe and charge into the mass of Shadows, swinging left and right. Each hit that connects obliterates a Shadow. Rarity catches on quickly and begins firing wildly into the fray. Shadows explode into nothingness all around me as her shots connect.

In less than a minute, the entire swarm of lions is gone. Rarity staggers, clutching her head. "What did we just do?"

"Worry about it later! We need to get to the beach house before that bitch sends another welcoming committee! I don't think we can pull that one off again!"

"N-no...I don't suppose we can..."

I take hold of Rarity's hand to steady her, and we run as fast as we can up the beach.

Meanwhile...