Zodiac

As soon as Flash and his harem leave, I turn my attention to the Hunter in front of us. Damn, this thing is ugly...

"Okay girls, this is what we're going to do. Rarity, you and I are on magical offense. Sonata, try and see if it has any weaknesses we can exploit. Applejack..." I frown. "Just...hit it with everything you've got."

Gemini lumbers toward us, its creepy faceless head rattling and the mouths on its tits screaming soundlessly.

"PERSONA!"

Tetrakarn

I summon Echo and erect a barrier to protect us. I have no idea what its capabilities are, but it's best to lay the groundwork for a solid defense.

Behind me, Sonata summons her Persona.

Balzac

It pulses with a fast, fiery beat; Gemini rears back its head and lets out a bellow of fury.

//Be careful! It's enraged!//

I smirk. "Good strategy, Sonata!" I turn to Applejack. "Your turn!"

"Right!" Applejack taps her phone. "PERSEPHONE!"

Gigantic Fist

Persephone appears and delivers a titanic blow to the Hunter. It staggers, then charges, tearing into my barrier with all its might.

Strike Attack

The barrier pulses with reflective light; the full force of the Hunter's attack rebounds on it, and it staggers back, pinwheeling its arms and roaring.

"BASTET!"

Bufudyne

Rarity's Persona appears. A massive ice crystal slams down onto Gemini.

Barrage

The Hunter roars; its left tit-face shoots off like a rocket and slams into Rarity repeatedly. She screams and falls to the ground.

//Oh my God! Rarity's dead!//

Recarm

"Damn!" I summon Echo again; with a pulse of white light, Rarity sits up, clutching her chest and breathing heavily.

Pierce Attack

Sonata steps in front of Rarity and aims her crossbow, firing two bolts into the Hunter's chest. It grunts with the impact.

"Ah'll see if Ah can't give us some more stayin' power," Applejack says. "PERSONA!"

Marakukaja

As Persephone appears again, I feel an emboldening, fortifying sensation sweep over me.

"Nice! Keep those buffs coming!" Sonata says.

Rarity stands up, clutching her head. "Persona," she mutters weakly.

Diarahan

Bastet's healing washes over her, and she becomes more steady on her feet. She scowls at the Hunter. "That was most uncouth."

"I agree," I say. "Let's see how it likes a little wind. Persona!"

Garula

Echo appears again and whips up a windstorm that buffets Gemini. It falls flat on its back.

//It's down! Go after it with everything you've got!//

"You bet!" Applejack says. She rushes in, pummeling Gemini with her fists and feet. I charge in and strike Gemini several times with my staff; Sonata slams the butt of her crossbow over its head repeatedly, while Rarity blasts away on full auto, hitting it right in the eyes.

Gemini roars and sends us all flying, then stands up, wobbling on its feet. Its eyes glow red, and a pressure wave washes over us.

Dekaja

//Be careful! It's lowered your defenses!//

Blastectomy

Gemini's face-tits open up, and two huge grenades fly out, landing at our feet. There's no time to dodge before they explode...

Recarmdra

The next thing I know, I'm sitting up, nursing a headache.

"APPLEJACK!" Sonata screams.

I look to my right. Applejack is lying on the ground, eyes closed and body still.

//She...she just...sacrificed herself to bring you all back,// Cadance says. //She's the only one that survived that attack.//

"Oh, Applejack," Rarity says softly.

Samarecarm

Solemnly, she summons her Persona; Applejack's chest rises and falls, and she sits up shakily, eyes wide.

"Don't you EVER do that again!" Sonata wails, throwing herself at Applejack. "That was STUPID!"

"Stupid or not, she saved our lives," I say. "Thank you, Applejack."

Applejack stands up, dusting herself off. "Thank me by figurin' out how t' kill this thing," she says.

"ECHO!"

Tetrakarn

Echo appears and erects another barrier. "Sonata, piss it off again!"

"Got it! MOIRAE!"

Balzac

Once again, Sonata's Persona enrages Gemini.

Strike Attack

It roars and slams into my barrier; like before, its attacks rebound. It collapses to the ground.

Like before, we unload on it with everything we have. This time, when it throws us all off, it takes longer for it to stand back up. It starts to shudder, and its tit-faces open up again...

"Oh no, not THIS again!" Applejack cries.

Marionette

But instead of that grenade attack, Gemini convulses and expels two misshapen lumps of its own Shadow flesh. The lumps convulse, then mold themselves into crude, faceless copies of Sonata and Applejack.

Gemini extends its hands; ropes of what look like congealed blood shoot from its fingertips, sinking hooked barbs into the arms, legs, and heads of the effigies. Suddenly, Sonata and Applejack stiffen, their arms and legs locked rigidly at their sides, their eyes wide and terrified.

"Oh, I don't like where this is going," I say. "Cadance?"

//Scanning. Give me a minute.//

As Cadance scans, Rarity summons Bastet and attacks Gemini again.

Bufudyne

It recoils from her attack, then twitches its fingertips, moving the Applejack puppet.

Strike Attack

The real Applejack suddenly bum-rushes Rarity and chokeslams her to the ground.

Pierce Attack

Sonata fires her crossbow at me; only my reflexes save me from a painful injury.

Strike Attack

I slam the butt of my staff into Sonata's breadbasket; she doesn't even seem to notice.

//Be careful! It's controlling Sonata and Applejack!//

"I NOTICED!"

Strike Attack

I charge Gemini and sweep the Sonata puppet's legs, then hit it repeatedly with my staff. The real Sonata crumples bonelessly to the ground. Applejack charges me like a mad bull; I dodge, and she plows into the Sonata puppet. The strings break, and it folds in on itself, turning back into a shapeless blob of Shadow-flesh.

Dropping my staff, I grab Applejack and throw her at the other puppet. It tears free from Gemini's strings and reverts to a blob even as Applejack lands face-first on top of it.

Mediarama

Rarity stands up and heals us all, then brushes herself off and frowns. "Well. That was unexpected."

Applejack picks herself up and growls. "Use me as some kinda puppet, will ya?"

Strike Attack

With a wordless scream of rage, she charges Gemini, catching it around one spindly leg and wrenching at it with all her strength. The Hunter flails and struggles to maintain its balance; it kicks Applejack off, sending her flying through the air to crash-land at Rarity's feet.

"What does it take to KILL this fucking thing?"

Tetrakarn

I rejoin the others, then summon Echo to create another barrier.

Balzac

Sonata tries to enrage Gemini again, but fails.

Bufudyne

Rarity fires off another one of her ice attacks.

Marakukaja

Applejack's Persona appears and bolsters our defense again.

//You've definitely hurt it,// Cadance says. //Just keep doing what you've been doing and you'll kill it eventually!//

"Eventually," I mutter. "Great."

Gemini suddenly halts in the middle of an attack on my barrier and clutches its head, screaming. It backs off, crouching down and shaking itself like a wet dog.

"Umm...what just happened?"

//Just a second...// Cadance pauses. //The other Gemini is dead! Flash and the others must've won!//

"Great, then they can get back here and help us kill THIS thing."

//They're telling me Silver Spoon disappeared,// Cadance says.

I nod. "That doesn't surprise me. The Hunter is the only thing keeping the target in Zodiac. No Hunter, no target."

Cadance gasps sharply. //Oh no...! Sunset Shimmer just appeared! She's...she's where the others are, and...and I'm picking up that Nemesis Prime thing!//

"What? She's...she's fighting them?" I shake my head. "Tell them to get out of there!"

//It's no good! They're trapped!//

"DAMN!"

"Ease up now, sugarcube," Applejack says. "Flash an' them know whut they're doin'. Ah think they can handle themselves jes' fine. We gotta focus on finishin' off this thing."

I shake my head. "You don't understand! If Sunset Shimmer summons her Persona, they'll...they'll all die!"

"Then we need to finish this quickly so you can find a way to get them back here before that happens," Rarity says.

I nod. "You're right. I...I'll do what I can." I glare up at Gemini, which seems to have recovered slightly from the death of its twin. "Let's finish this..."