Zodiac

All around us, more and more lion Shadows boil up out of the beach, but instead of attacking us, they're pacing us in two even lines. "What are they doing?" I wonder.

"I don't know," Rarity says. "But I don't think we can do that...thing again anytime soon..."

"You're right, we need...we need to conserve our strength..." My lungs are burning; Rarity's having trouble keeping up. She's wincing every other step. "Are you alright?"

"I, ahh...I'm a bit sore..." Rarity blushes. "In certain places..."

"Oh...right..." I cough. "Sorry."

"Never you mind, darling. I'll manage..."

"I wonder..." I slide the Star Arcana onto my phone. "KUMA!"

Mediarahan

A powerful wave of dazzling healing light washes over Rarity. She blinks. "Oh. That's...certainly thinking outside the box," she says. She quickens her pace; she's no longer wincing as she runs.

The house is coming into view; there's a massive pride of Shadows swarming around it, roaring and pawing the ground. I swallow heavily. "This is gonna suck..."

A huge, glowing pink shape plows into the mass of Shadows, sending dozens of them flying. Lightning stabs down from the sky. Glowing green wind blasts rip through the Shadows like a scythe through wheat.

Our friends are gathered in front of the house, fighting for their lives...

"I hope I have enough power to affect this many Shadows," I say, sliding the Tower Arcana back onto my phone. "OZYMANDIAS!"

Masukunda

Marakunda

Matarunda

I feel like an icepick is digging into my skull as I exert the debilitating powers of Ozymandias on the massive pride of Shadows. I collapse to my knees, clutching my head in agony; Rarity crouches beside me, arms wrapped supportively around my shoulders.

"FLASH!"

A devastating shower of blinding lightning spreads through the entire crowd of Shadows, annihilating many of them. Twilight clears a path and runs out to me, skidding to a stop in front of me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I grunt. "Just...pushed myself...a little too hard..."

The Shadows that paced me and Rarity on the beach form a circle around us; the remaining Shadows that had surrounded the beach house join their ranks even as Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Sonata join us.

Well, well...finally, the gang's all here.

With a sound not unlike the crackling of a fire, a glowing shape emerges from the Shadows: a bizarre silhouette in the shape of Sunset Shimmer, composed entirely of flickering streams of computer code, alternating between red and gold. The Shadows all kneel to her as she approaches us. Ribbons of code trail away from her "body" like sparks from a flame.

"Sunset Shimmer," Twilight snarls, tensing her grip on her rapier.

I'm just here for Fluttershy today. Of course, you're ALL going to die here...

Fluttershy glares at her. "You don't scare me anymore, Sunset. I don't care what you do with my secrets...I don't have anything left to lose. I can ruin you just as bad as you can ruin me."

Oh, I severely doubt that. And you're wrong about one thing. You DO have something left to lose...

The flickering image of Sunset thrusts a hand through Fluttershy's head. Fluttershy screams and sinks to her knees, eyes wide and glassy.

A twisted red-and-black mess rises up out of Fluttershy's head. Her Persona, Eris, hovers above her...but she's wrong, deformed. Eris lets out a sound like the screeching of metal against metal as huge rips form all over her body, leaking great clouds of ghastly red mist and ribbons of sickly green code. The halo of computer screens circling Eris' head flickers; each screen shatters with a violent snap, fizzing into static as they fade away. Eris sags like a puppet with its strings cut, sinking back into Fluttershy's head. Fluttershy falls limply forward; Sonata catches her and holds her gently.

"What did you do to her?" Twilight asks shakily. Her face is pale.

Sunset laughs.

You dove too deep, Fluttershy. I just hacked your soul.

"You did WHAT?" Rainbow cries.

It's a shame, really...Eris MIGHT have been able to protect her from what's about to happen...but now she's helpless to avoid her own fate...

//I'm detecting Aries! It's...it's right on top of you!//

A blurry, indistinct mass of shadow falls out of the sky; its body is formless, and its head has the vague shape of a ram's horns.

And now, the fun begins...

Something appears, faintly, behind Aries, hovering in the air and pulsing like a heartbeat:

The lion Shadows all roar deafeningly, then launch themselves at Aries, dissolving into its mass. Aries grows larger and gains definition.

"Oh no..." Pinkie whimpers. "Not this again..."

//Be careful! Aries' power is increasing rapidly!//

A concussive force wave from Aries knocks us all off our feet. I look up as the Shadow's form fully solidifies...

Aries stands on two massive black cloven-hooved legs; its red-skinned torso is human and massively muscled, with two hulking arms that end in four thick, knobby fingers tipped in long ebon claws. Intricate patterns are carved deep into its flesh, meeting at the sigil of Aries in the center of its chest. Atop a corded neck, set forward from the body, is a massive, cracked white ram skull with long, curved, twisted black horns. In one hand, it holds a shape that looks like a solid, nude silhouette of Fluttershy, broken into several pieces and held together by thick red ropes of gore. In the other hand, it holds a massive, curved, serrated black knife.

I hope you all die slowly and painfully...I want to cherish each tortured scream...

The bizarre image of Sunset dissolves into ribbons of code, which fly to every corner of the sky and wink out of existence.

We pick ourselves up and stare at Aries. "Oh...crap," Rainbow mutters, gulping audibly.

"We're...we're not gonna make it out of this one, are we?" Twilight whimpers.

I square my jaw. "We're not dead yet," I say. "Pinkie, Rarity, Sonata...protect Fluttershy. Twilight, Rainbow, up front with me. Just like we practiced."

Masukukaja

Rainbow Dash summons her Persona; we all blur and feel lighter on our feet.

Matarukaja

Pinkie Pie summons her Persona; we all feel a rush of vigor, as though our strength has vastly increased.

Poison Mist

Sonata summons her Persona; whatever she tries to do has no discernible effect on either us or Aries. "Sorry, guys...I...might not be very useful for this one..."

"That's quite alright, darling," Rarity says.

Sukunda

She summons her Persona; Aries' movements slow down.

"My turn," I say. "OZYMANDIAS!"

Debilitate

Aries bellows as Ozymandias weakens it, then swings its knife in a wide wave.

Deathbound

A cutting pressure tears into us; Rainbow manages to avoid being hit, while Twilight and Rarity take the worst of it. "Athena," Twilight hisses.

Mediarama

Athena appears and sheds healing light over all of us; the pain from Aries' attack subsides.

"NIKE!"

Garula

Rainbow's Persona appears and fires off a blast of wind; Aries grunts and takes a half-step back.

"EUPHORIA!"

Slam Dance

Pinkie's Persona flies straight at Aries, winking playfully as she slams her butt right into its head. Aries swats her away with an aggravated grunt.

Pierce Attack

Sonata fires a crossbow bolt which pierces one of Aries' empty eye sockets; it bellows in pain. She fires another, which glances off Aries' broad chest.

"BASTET!"

Bufula

Bastet's ice attack does little appreciable damage.

I swipe the Magician Arcana in. "MERLIN!"

Mind Charge

Merlin raises his staff; a blue aura rises around me, wreathing me in heatless blue flames.

"What was that, dude?" Rainbow asks.

"Something I haven't used yet," I say. "I'm...storing up power..."

"We'll buy you some time," Twilight says...

Vile Assault

Aries lunges forward, stabbing Twilight viciously with its knife. She screams as she collapses, curling into a ball and mewling pitifully.

"TWILIGHT!" Pinkie screams. "PERSONA!"

Orgy of Death

Euphoria appears again and charges Aries, launching into a series of nosebleed-inducing spinning kicks and twirls. Aries staggers away and grunts, shaking its head like a wet dog.

"PERSONA!" Rarity cries.

Diarama

Bastet appears and heals Twilight; she stands up, but she still looks terribly hurt.

"I...I'm okay," Twilight says. "I...just need a sec..."

"NIKE!"

Garula

Rainbow summons her Persona to perform her wind attack again.

I feel Merlin's magical power reach its peak... "PERSONA!"

Megidola

With a tremendous whump, a blinding white column of pure light falls out of the sky, slamming into Aries and spreading out in a concentric wave. The fiery blue aura fades from around me.

"DUDE," Rainbow says, jaw dropping.

"You...might want to lead with that from now on, darling," Rarity says.

//That did some damage, but it wasn't enough...I think Aries is about to do something!//

Sacrifice of the Flesh

As the light from Merlin's spell fades, Aries raises the effigy of Fluttershy it's holding and takes a huge, vicious bite out of it, spraying dark red blood everywhere and severing a leg, which flies through the air and lands uncomfortably close to us. A spiral shell of crimson flames wraps around Aries' body; it arches its back and throws its arms into the air, bellowing triumphantly.

"Oh, GROSS!" Pinkie complains.

"What the fuck?" Rainbow says.

//Everyone, protect yourselves!//

We all brace ourselves, watching tensely. Aries paws the ground with one massive hoof and charges, slamming into us.

Torment of the Damned

We're all sent flying; Pinkie, Rarity, and Sonata catch fire. Their screams are terrifying...

I change from Merlin to Kuma, and Twilight and I work quickly to heal our friends. "I don't know how much more of this I can bear," I say.

//I think that attack lowered its defenses! Everyone, do as much damage as you can!//

Once everyone's back on their feet, we all start unloading every spell and attack we can muster. Aries twitches helplessly, caught in our crossfire, and thrashes around, bellowing in pain. After a vicious thunder strike from Athena, Aries crashes to the ground; we all charge in and wail away on it with our weapons with reckless abandon.

After nearly a full minute of all-out assault, Aries roars and flails at us with its powerful hooves, sending us all flying. It stands up, shaking its head and bellowing in rage.

Sacrifice of the Flesh

It greedily consumes the remainder of the effigy, and the spiral shell of flames once more envelops its body.

//Look out! It's going to—//

Torment of the Damned

Aries looses an earthshaking roar and charges us. It's too fast...we can't dodge...we can't even defend ourselves...