Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): When the sun sets on a tragedy, it often rises on an opportunity.
Early Morning
We've been at Sweet Apple Acres a week now. On Saturday, we're going back home.
Throughout the morning, Shining Armor refuses to look at or speak to anyone. His face and arms are sporting a number of bandages from scratches and minor bites he received yesterday. Granny Smith gave him a rabies shot last night that had him howling like a banshee.
And then there's Sunset Shimmer. She's making a real effort to engage everyone in conversation. Most of the girls won't indulge her, or are snippy with her. There's a general air of unease throughout breakfast.
As we're all finishing up breakfast, Big Macintosh clears his throat. "Them bat catcher guys are comin' out this mornin' t' clear th' west orchard. There's plenty o' work t' do, but Ah don't think we need t' work in th' trees today."
"Suits me," Applejack says. "Ain't like anything else is ready fer pickin' nohow."
"They're not going to kill the bats, are they?" Fluttershy asks.
"Nah," Granny Smith says. "They're jes' gonna round 'em up an' take 'em out t' th' woods."
After clearing the breakfast dishes, we head out to do chores.
Daytime
A little past ten, I'm working in the vegetable garden with Rarity when a black pickup trundles up the dusty path onto the farm, hauling an extremely creaky trailer behind it that's covered in a heavy military surplus tarp with a huge black bat painted on either side with a red circle-and-slash symbol. When it comes to a stop, the doors open and two men step out.
One of them is middle-aged, wearing a grey jumpsuit, heavy blue boots and gloves, and a dark blue hat which shades his eyes. A heavy yellow toolbelt is strapped around his waist, and the front of his jumpsuit has a big yellow circle on it, at the center of which sits a little picture of a bat with a red circle and slash through it. The other guy, who looks to be about college-age, is wearing green skinny jeans, boots, and gloves, a sleeveless red shirt, and dark sunglasses. He looks rather beleaguered.
Rarity takes one look at them and her jaw drops in disbelief. "Sweet mercy," she says. "Such...such horrid outfits..."
Big Macintosh is up on the roof of the house replacing some shingles. He sees the two men approach and calls down to me. "Flash, you show 'em where to go. Ah gotta git this roof done up."
"Right." I take off my gardening gloves, stand up, brush my knees off, and walk over to the two men, who are removing equipment from the bed of their truck.
"Good day, young fellow," the older man says in a rich, commanding voice—or at least, a campy TV parody of one. "My fine chum and I are here to take care of your bat problem." He turns to the college kid. "Red Robin, ready the bat cages and hand me the bat stun rod."
"My name's Gibson, Mr. West," the kid—Gibson—grumbles as he hands Mr. West a cattle prod and picks up two large steel cages full of airholes.
"It's this way," I say, leading them into the orchard. Halfway there, Fluttershy joins our little group, followed by Applejack.
Work on the farm is a little on the thin side today, I guess. Or maybe they're just curious.
By the time we reach the west orchard and the first row of bat-infested trees, everyone except Shining Armor, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity are trailing after us. "This is the spot," I say.
"This whole part of th' orchard," Applejack clarifies, gesturing expansively with one hand. "Four acres from here back yonder that way."
"Four acres?!" Gibson cries. "Holy ten man job, Mr. West! This is gonna take all day and I'm supposed to be at band practice at four!"
"Hold steady, old chum," Mr. West says. "Saving this fine farm from a fiendish fruit felon fiasco is more important than hanging out with some hookah-huffing hippies."
Gibson gives him a cross stare. "We're a garage band," he says. "We don't smoke pot." In a muttered undertone, he adds, "We shoot heroin."
"Which is why you'll work the hours I tell you to work," Mr. West says in a less grandiose, more gruff tone. "Now, ready the bat cages, Red Robin."
Gibson sighs. "Right away, Mr. West."
Rainbow edges closer to me. "Speaking of bats, I think this guy's got a few flapping around in his brain," she whispers.
"Umm, Mr. West?" Fluttershy asks. "You...you're not going to hurt the bats, are you?"
Mr. West chuckles as he checks his cattle prod. "Fear not, lovely lass. A mild stun, nothing more. They'll wake up safely secured in my mobile bat cave."
"Mobile...?"
"I think he means that trailer hitched up to his truck," I say.
"Stand back, citizens!" Mr. West says as he approaches the first tree, cattle prod at the ready. Gibson gives us all a glance that says 'you don't want to get too close', then trudges after him. The rest of us exchange a concerned look, then back off to a distance of about twelve feet.
As odd as he is, Mr. West does seem to know what he's doing. As soon as he's up the tree, we can faintly hear his cattle prod crackling, followed by one HELL of a racket as the bats in the tree go crazy. One bat drops to the ground, twitching. Gibson scoops it up and crams it into a cage. Not long after, another bat falls, then another. The noise level in the tree subsides, but we can hear bats starting to get restless in the other trees.
"Wow, that guy's crazy like a fox," Sunset says.
Mr. West drops down out of the tree, then walks over to another, Gibson right behind him. After two trees, both cages are full of bats, and Gibson has to carry them back to the truck. A few steps away, he stops and turns, addressing me. "We actually have six of these big cages in the truck," he says. "This could go a lot faster if I had a little help on catch and release."
"Now, Red Robin," Mr. West says sternly, hands on his hips, "we can't endanger these fine young people."
"No, it's fine," I say. I follow Gibson over to the truck; Applejack trails in behind me. We get the rest of the cages out of the pickup while Gibson opens up a flap in the tarp, unlocks a swinging steel door in the trailer, and carefully removes the bats—which are just starting to recover—from the cages and releases them into the trailer. Once his two cages are empty, the three of us walk back over to the orchard.
It isn't long before everybody else joins us in watching the bizarre spectacle that is Mr. West's bat removal. With so many of us hanging around watching, we end up forming a constantly moving bucket brigade, hauling cages back to the truck, emptying them into the trailer, and bringing the empties back. Mr. West is doing all the dangerous work of shocking the bats out of the trees, so none of us are handling angry, biting, scratching animals—just sad-looking unconscious leather flapbags. Even with our makeshift bucket brigade speeding up the process, it's almost suppertime when we're done, and the trailer on the "Bat Wagon" is almost completely full.
"I'll be back next week to sweep for stragglers," Mr. West says as he collects his pay while a surly Gibson stows the gear. "It takes a few days to offload this many bats."
"We thank ya kindly," Granny Smith says.
As Mr. West and Gibson drive off, Silver Spoon adjusts her glasses. "Well, that was a thing I'd never have seen in the city," she says.
"Eeyup," Apple Bloom agrees.
Evening
Because of the whole bat thing, Granny gets a late start on dinner. The rest of us decide to relax in the house. I'm in the middle of a card game with some of the girls when my phone rings. It's Mom. I excuse myself from the game and find a quiet place to talk.
"How's it going, Flash?" Mom asks. "You're out on that farm, right?"
"That's right. We've been doing farm chores all week long. Well, most of the time. Today we actually had a little excitement here." I tell her all about the bat infestation and the bizarre antics of the bat catchers.
"Well, that's...interesting. How's everything else going? What about the problems you've been having with that girl?"
I sigh. "Yeah, there's been some drama on that front. We're...we're dealing with it."
"Oh my...it sounds like she's causing trouble."
"She's caused plenty of trouble," I mutter. "But it's...we're managing."
"Flash? You...you know you can talk to me about anything, right? Me and your dad, we're just worried about you."
I smile even though she can't see it. "I know, Mom. But really, I'm fine. Right now, it's Shining Armor who's in trouble, and that's not a problem I can fix. That's between him, his wife, and Mrs. Velvet."
"He didn't...with that girl, did he?" Mom hisses. "Men. Good grief. I swear. Well, as long as you're not cheating on Twilight with her—"
"Trust me, I'm definitely not." I sigh. "I'm just trying to figure out what she's really up to."
"Well, just be careful. And remember, we're always here for you."
"I will. Thanks, Mom."
The Family Social Link of the World Arcana has reached rank 8!
Your power to create Personas of the World Arcana has grown!
We talk for a while longer; when Granny yells that supper is ready, I say goodbye and head out to join the others.
It's very late by the time we all finish eating supper, and we have a battle tonight, so we all head to bed as soon as the dishes are washed.
The Velvet Room...
Once we're all together, Zecora and the gold-framed door bearing the Hanged Man Arcana appear. Before Zecora can rhyme at us, Twilight holds up a hand. "Can you give us a minute?" she asks. "We need to have a long talk about some things while certain people aren't around to eavesdrop."
Zecora frowns, but shrugs. "This is your collective dream," she says. "Do whatever best suits your team." She steps off to the side and makes a sweep of her hand. A small round table with a blue tablecloth appears, with plush blue chairs to either side and a tea service on top. Zecora sits down and waves a hand over the table. A bowl of shredded wheat biscuits appears. She picks one up, gives Twilight an imperious glare, and bites down on it with a savage *crunch*, chewing slowly and ominously.
Cadance looks miserable. "How...how's Shining Armor?" she asks. "I haven't spoken to him since..." She bows her head. "I've been screening his calls."
"I don't blame you," Twilight says. "He's...kind of a wreck, but he brought it on himself. We've all been pretty hard on him."
"He deserves it," I put in.
Cadance sighs. "Ever since I went off on him, I've been thinking about how many times I cheated on him..."
"This isn't the same," Twilight says. "Yes, you've done a lot of things you shouldn't have, and yes, he's only done this once, but it's..." She fumbles for words.
"Quality over quantity?" I offer.
Twilight glares at me. "That's not funny."
"Wasn't trying to be." I shrug. "Anyway, we've all been beating up on him, verbally and physically. He's kind of falling apart. Today he wouldn't say a word to anybody."
Cadance frowns. "I see." She takes a deep breath. "I guess tomorrow I'd better have a long talk with him, clear the air, try to figure out why he really slept with her of all people."
I cough. "Yeah, about that." I tell Cadance about my long talk with Sunset Shimmer, about the meeting we all had the other night, and about how compliant and meek she's been acting ever since. Once I'm done, I add, "I think Shining Armor picked up on the same thing I did and felt sorry for her."
Twilight scowls. "That's no excuse."
"No, it isn't," I say. "But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Something's really not adding up here. She's been..." I shrug and gesture vaguely. "She's been vulnerable lately. And she's given up all her blackmail material on us—"
"So she claims."
"Fluttershy seems to believe her on that much at least." I sigh. "I honestly don't know what to think anymore."
Cadance shakes her head. "We can't trust her," she says. "Not after everything she's done."
"I'm not saying we should," I say. "I just think maybe we should listen to her, maybe be open to the possibility that she really does want to change." I shrug. "I mean, what do we have to lose by just listening to her?"
Twilight purses her lips. "I..." She sighs. "If I'm completely honest with myself? The Sunset Shimmer we've spent the last few weeks with...I could've been friends with. Without the history between us and all the horrible things she's done, if I'd met her when she was like she's been lately, I really think I could've..." She lets out a frustrated groan. "AGH! Now she's getting into MY head!"
"Pardon me for interrupting," Rarity says suddenly. I didn't realize the rest of the girls were standing around us in a circle. "There is one matter of more immediate importance than whether or not we can trust Sunset Shimmer." She looks around at the vast expanse of the Velvet Room. "If we are no longer expecting a confrontation with that harridan and her monstrous Persona, is there any point in continuing these awful sessions?"
Zecora is suddenly beside her. "I would advise against abstaining from this special Shadow training," she says gravely. "If you stray from your current path, you might not survive the Devil's wrath."
I frown. "That's the second time you've mentioned the Devil," I say thoughtfully. "Is that some kind of warning about Red Flag?" A horrible thought strikes me. "Did Red Flag create Zodiac? Does...does he have a Persona? Is...is he our real enemy?"
"I can only guide you," Zecora says. "I cannot give you answers. You must find the answers for yourself." She steps away, arms folded behind her back.
We look at each other, eyes wide. "Okay, why is it every time she stops rhyming, I get creeped out?" Rainbow asks.
I look over at the Hanged Man door. "Maybe...we'd better do what we came here to do in the first place." I walk over to the door and touch it. It swings open with a sound like a badly tuned cello screeching. Octavia steps out.
Why can't anyone let me decide what I want for my own life? All my life, my mother has controlled my every move, my every action, my every minute. Then when I finally get her to let up...
She bows her head.
Now I have to deal with Vinyl. What good is being free to do what I want with my life when I'm saddled with a blind girlfriend? I'm not exactly free if I have to plan my life around taking care of her now, am I?
And my mother still disapproves of her. Of me. Of my refusal to be her plaything. I will never truly be free of her control.
She starts to tremble.
I won't have it! I'm sick of both of them! I just want...
She looks up; her eyes are gold on black.
I JUST WANT THE BOTH OF THEM TO DISAPPEAR!
"Wow, the boring high-class girl has boring problems," Rainbow says.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight snaps. "Honestly."
I am the Shadow, the True Self! My horrid shrew of a mother deserves to have her head bashed in! My so-called girlfriend? I hope that godawful noise she calls music makes her go deaf as well as blind!
Black flames wreathe Octavia's Shadow. She throws her head back and laughs psychotically...
...which turns into a gurgling scream as thick, thorny black chains ending in hooks shaped like bass clefs come flying out of nowhere; two chains snare her arms, sinking through her wrists, and pull them up, while two more chains sling around her thighs, spreading them wide apart. A larger, thicker chain, studded with treble clef-shaped spikes, slams through her head, obliterating it in a grisly red spray, and cleaves her torso right down the middle.
"EWW!"
"WHAT THE FUCK—"
"Oh, gross!"
With the distant sound of a clanky pully system cranking the chains, the mutilated corpse of Octavia's Shadow is lifted into the air, her skirt and socks stained with blood. As what's left of her rises, it grows and expands, as do the chains; they start growing together, thick inky ropes of black ichor branching out and weaving together to form a gruesome chandelier of tar-like ropes and chains. Octavia's legs are spread wide apart by the rising chains. Massive effigies of her mother and Vinyl Scratch rise out of the ground, grabbing her ankles and pulling them violently apart.
The remnants of the massive, mutilated Shadow writhe as gallons of filthy black water gush from beneath her skirt, spreading in a thin, greasy pool on the ground. With a bloodcurdling scream, Octavia's torso, nude from the waist up and her hair wet, matted, and tangled, erupts from beneath her skirt. A studded collar is fastened tightly around her eyes, with a long leash dangling from it; massive, disembodied off-white hands wearing purple fingerless gloves cover her breasts. In her left hand, she holds an enormous cello by the neck.
"Oh dude. I'm gonna hurl," Rainbow Dash says, covering her mouth. Rarity is already throwing up on the ground.
"What the actual fuck?!" Fluttershy spits venomously, glaring up at the sick, wrong mess above us.
"Did she...did she just give birth to herself?" Pinkie wonders, her eyes wide.
"Just when I thought this whole Shadow business couldn't get any more messed up," Twilight says listlessly. "This is really, really wrong."
Your tortured screams of pain shall be my finest symphony, and my cello shall be the instrument of your death!
//Guys? I'm in no mood for bad music puns tonight, so let's finish this one off fast!//
We all activate Black Butterfly. Sonata bounces happily as her new, incredibly sexy outfit forms. "Whee! I'm fanservice!"
"Yes. Yes you are."
"Look out!" Twilight yells. "Here she comes!"
"She's a maneater?" Pinkie asks.
Wind Break
Octavia's cello blurs, becoming a translucent mass of spinning wind vortices. She swings it at Fluttershy, who tries to dodge. It connects anyway with a loud, dissonant shattering sound. Fluttershy blinks and freezes in place, totally unharmed, as the cello turns solid again during the follow-through.
Cadance gasps. //Be careful! She just cancelled out your wind resistance!//
"Then I guess I know what barrier to put up! PERSONA!"
Makarakarn
Echo appears; a shimmering golden barrier flares to life in front of us, fading from view after a second.
"My new power is just right for a fight like this!" Sonata exclaims. She closes her eyes, and a bright ruby light shines from her throat as the blood-red gem appears on a black silk choker around her neck. She passes both hands in front of it, fingers spread wide. Her eyes snap open.
Ethereal singing echoes from the distant mists, haunting in its beauty. Octavia's Shadow burns with a faint, hazy red aura; a thin ribbon of light greenish-blue smoke wafts away from her, trailing into Sonata's choker.
//Good thinking! As long as she's enraged, she can't use magic!//
"But don't that give us a whole new problem?" Applejack asks, eyeing that massive cello warily.
"I'm on it!" I say, swiping the Sun Arcana onto my phone. "ASURA!"
Tetrakarn
Asura appears, one head bowing in concentration as the others glare at Octavia while all six hands form complicated seals. A shimmering reflective barrier appears in front of each of us.
"Rainbow, give us a little extra insurance!" Twilight orders.
"Aww, but I wanted to kick her butt," Rainbow pouts.
"Butt-kicking later! Stat buffs now!" Sonata says.
"Okay, fine," Rainbow huffs. "PERSONA!"
Masukukaja
Nike Invicta appears, jamming out a chord. I feel lighter on my feet, and everyone seems a bit blurred at the edges.
"Well so long as we're buffin' ourselves up," Applejack says, "PERSEPHONE!"
Matarukaja
As soon as Applejack's Persona appears, I feel great strength flood through my body.
Laughter fills the Velvet Room. A cool blue light surrounds us, even as waves of debilitating force press down on Octavia's Shadow.
//Okay, I think that's about as much as you can stack the deck,// Cadance says. //Now kick her butt!//
"As you wish," Rarity says. "PERSONA!"
Bufudyne
Wadjet-Bast appears, blowing a frozen kiss which envelops Octavia in a flurry of diamond dust...that stops short of the target, collecting in a glittering mess on the floor before fading away.
//Ice won't work!//
"Now she tells me," Rarity mutters as her Persona fades.
"Then let's see if electricity works!" Twilight says. "PERSONA!"
Ziodyne
Athena Logia appears, gathering a massive thunderbolt at the tip of her spear, which she hurls at the Shadow. This attack has the desired effect, as Octavia writhes in pain.
Strike Attack
With a scream of rage, she swings her massive cello at Twilight, who nimbly dodges both the first strike and the backswing.
"PERSONA!"
Garula
Echo appears, lobbing blades of wind at the Shadow which scatter ineffectually before they reach.
//Wind doesn't work either!//
"Shit."
"I wanna play with my new toy!"
Pierce Attack
Sonata aims her crossbow at the Shadow and fires a bolt right in between her breasts. The Shadow grunts in pain.
"PERSONA!" Once again, I summon Asura.
Primal Force
Three massive bows made of light appear in Asura's six hands, all drawn to their limit. A huge, blinding bolt of white light forms in each drawn bow, converging together at a shining point just in front of Asura. A ringing sound fills the air as Asura releases all three strings, sending a thin, piercing laser SLAMMING into Octavia's Shadow, who reels in pain.
"Nice one!" Rainbow cheers. "Now me! PERSONA!"
Vorpal Blade
Nike flies high into the air, her guitar transforming into a sword as she swoops down again in a daring dive, slashing Octavia across the face.
"PERSONA!"
Gigantic Fist
Persephone punches Octavia in the head.
"PERSONA!"
Slam Dance
Euphoria spin-twirls across the room, leaps high into the air, and kicks Octavia in the boobs.
Pierce Attack
Rarity aims her handgun at Octavia and fires off a few shots, which the Shadow doesn't even seem to notice. Rarity pouts.
"PERSONA!"
Ziodyne
Athena unleashes another lightning bolt into the Shadow.
Strike Attack
Octavia screams in rage and smashes her cello over Applejack's head like a club. The force of her strike rebounds against her. With a snarl, she tries again. This time, the blow drives Applejack to her knees.
"You okay, AJ?" Rainbow asks.
"Yeah," Applejack grunts, standing up.
"ECHO!"
Diarama
Healing magic flows into Applejack, who gives Fluttershy a grateful smile.
Sonata and I repeat our attacks. After Asura hits again, Octavia lets out an unearthly screech, her cello crashing to the ground as her body goes slack. We watch in horror as the effigy of Octavia's mother wins the grisly game of tug of war; Octavia's left leg tears off, sending a shower of black-red blood everywhere. With a triumphant snarl, she swings the severed leg at us. We're all too stunned to react as the unexpected attack mows us all down.
"Okay," Rainbow grunts as she gingerly picks herself up, "that was sick."
One by one, the others pick themselves up, staring at the effigy who is now cradling the torn-off leg protectively while spurts of blood continue to gush from underneath the Shadow's skirt. As soon as she's on her feet, Twilight helps me up.
Octavia stirs, recovering her cello with one dangling hand. The red haze and thin green trickle of smoke have disappeared.
Mind Charge
She takes a deep breath, and a bright glow surrounds her.
//Be careful! She's about to use a powerful attack Fluttershy's barrier can't repel!//
Rainbow snorts. "Big deal, Sonata can just do that thing again, right?"
"Sorry, I can't!" Indeed, the red gem choker has disappeared from around Sonata's throat.
//I think those gem power things Pinkie and Sonata have only work once a day or something.//
"Well that sucks," Rainbow complains.
"Brace yourselves, everybody!" Fluttershy yells. We all assume the most defensive positions we know, even as the glow surrounding Octavia intensifies.
We don't have long to wait.
Megidolaon
She extends her empty hand toward us, and the now-blinding glow surrounding her travels down her arm, collecting in front of her palm, before hurling itself at us like a meteor. The magic meteor shakes the ground like a concussion blast as it hits; a roar of terrible noise fills the air, and even with my eyes shut tightly, the light is blinding. My entire body is agony...!
When I can see again, Fluttershy, Rarity, Sonata, and Twilight are dead, and everybody else is hanging on by a thread, myself included. "Holy fuck..." Even though my body is burning and trembling with agony, I manage to swipe the Lovers onto my phone. "Persona..."
Serenity appears, a sorrowful expression on her face as she gazes over all my dead friends. With a weary sigh, she floats over to Fluttershy, her crystal shining.
Samarecarm
Fluttershy's chest rises with breath and she stands, shaking her head and rubbing her temples. She looks around and grimaces as Serenity fades. "Shit." She looks up at the fading form of Serenity, then down at Twilight's lifeless body, then at me. She frowns. "You brought me back before your girlfriend?"
"You can help bring back the others," I grunt. "She can only heal the ones that are still alive once she's back." I let out a hiss; my lungs are on fire. Pinkie stumbles over to me, clutching me protectively as she looks forlornly at Twilight.
"Shit," Rainbow mutters. "I...I think..." She stumbles, then drops to her knees.
Applejack looks around at us, a wan smile on her face. "Well...damn," she grunts. "Y'all...Ah can't do much right now 'cept..." She taps her phone. "Persona."
Recarmdra
Persephone appears. She gently holds out a strange-looking rainbow apple to Applejack. With a sheepish grin, Applejack takes a bite. The apple rolls from her hand as her eyes roll back in her head and she faints. Bright ribbons of rainbow light spread like roots from the apple, touching each of us who are still alive. The light creeps up through my body, erasing my pain and healing my wounds. Within seconds, I feel completely healthy, if a bit sore and fatigued.
Rainbow stands up and rushes over to Applejack. "What did you DO?" she screams, kneeling down and shaking Applejack.
Applejack opens her eyes and chuckles weakly. "Heh...careful there," she croaks. "Ah'm sittin' on death's porch."
"Stupid hayseed," Rainbow moans, laying Applejack's head in her lap.
"Be gay together later," Fluttershy snaps roughly. "We're still in trouble here."
"Not for long!" Pinkie says. "EUPHORIA!"
Samarecarm
Euphoria appears, crouching low over Twilight and studying her with a sad, curious expression. She splashes Twilight's face playfully with glowing rainbow liquid. Twilight splutters and sits up, rubbing her eyes.
Relief ebbs away the tension and aches I've felt since Applejack's sacrifice.
Twilight looks around. "Ugh...what happened?" She spots Rarity and Sonata and gasps sharply. "Oh my god..."
"Yeah, we're still down a couple—"
Strike Attack
Rainbow is cut off by Octavia's cello smashing into her head, sending her flying. Applejack's limp body flops to the floor, a splatter of Rainbow's blood peppering her.
"RAINBOW!" Twilight cries.
"Ngggh...!" Rainbow stands up, grunting and glaring at the Shadow. "Forget about me! Just get Sonata and Rarity back on their feet!" She half-trots, half-limps back over to us, rubbing her head and hissing.
Fluttershy frowns. "Persona."
Recarm
Echo appears, flittering around Sonata. A soft light falls from her tiny wings like fairy dust, scattering over Sonata, who slowly sits up, blinking open her eyes.
"SERENITY!"
Samarecarm
Serenity appears once again, more composed than before, and revives Rarity, who gingerly picks herself up. Rarity looks around at us and grimaces. "I don't suppose we quite survived that little blast," she says.
"Not entirely, no," I say.
"Well now that we're all back on our feet," Rainbow grunts, "NIKE!"
Vorpal Blade
Nike soars into the air like an avenging angel, bellowing a war cry as her guitar-sword stabs mercilessly and viciously into the collar binding her eyes, splitting it down the middle.
Applejack grunts and slowly pushes herself to her feet. "Let's...git our apples back in th' bucket," she says. "PERSONA!"
Marakukaja
Persephone appears, erecting an apple-shaped shell of light around us which shrinks, splits, and wraps us each in a skintight cocoon of magic that seeps into our bodies.
"Does everything have to be apples with you?" Pinkie asks, shaking her head. "PERSONA!"
Matarukaja
Euphoria appears again, drizzling rainbow liquid over all of us; that feeling of increased strength floods through my body once again.
"ATHENA!"
Mediarahan
Twilight summons Athena, who sends an electrifying wave of healing power surging through our group. Applejack and Rainbow give almost identical groans of satisfaction as they rub their shoulders and crack their necks.
Eerie Sound
Octavia's Shadow summons a bow and drags it across the strings of her cello. A terrifying screech fills the air. We all cover our ears until it fades.
Nothing seems to happen. We all look at each other, perplexed. Finally, Fluttershy shrugs. "PERSONA!"
Tetrakarn
Echo creates new mirror barriers in front of us.
"PERSONA!"
Tidal Wave
Leviathan appears, summoning a mighty tidal wave which crashes over Octavia. She screams and thrashes around.
"I've had about enough of this bitch," I mutter as I swipe the Tower onto my phone. "GOJIRA!"
"Oh shit, here we go," Rainbow says with a grin as the ground shakes.
Spiral Death Ray
Gojira stomps onto the scene, his spines glowing from the tip of his tail up. A massive red-blue fireball gathers in his mouth. His fiery breath blast engulfs Octavia, sparks and smoke exploding away from her body as her cello burns to charcoal and ash.
As Gojira disappears, Octavia clutches her head and screams. Her right leg gives way as Vinyl tears it free, grinning savagely as she throws it at us. We're all scattered like bowling pins.
"Seriously?" Applejack grunts as she picks herself up.
Octavia's Shadow is now hanging limp and lifeless from the chain, a legless rag doll whose hips and groin are on upside-down. It's almost a pathetic sight...
Mind Charge
That white glow starts to surround her again.
"Oh crap oh crap oh crap!" Rainbow cries, bouncing on the balls of her feet and staring with wide, wild eyes. "Not again!"
//Look out, she's going to—//
"WE KNOW!" I yell. "Screw defense. Let's try to stop her from doing that thing again!"
"No, we need to have a plan!" Twilight says.
"We don't have time for plans! PERSONA!" Rainbow slams her hand on her phone.
Vorpal Blade
Once again, Nike soars toward the hanging Shadow, hacking away at the chain suspending her.
Twilight's brow furrows. "That's interesting," she says.
"Ah'm with RD on this one!" Applejack says. "PERSONA!"
Gigantic Fist
Persephone erupts into being; her mighty fist strikes the chain, which shudders and sways violently.
"Chain gang!" Pinkie sings. "PERSONA!"
Orgy of Death
Euphoria leaps high into the air, spinning like a leaf in the wind. She grabs onto the chain, doing a sultry, alluring pole dance bit while hanging onto it before scissoring the stump of the Shadow's trunk with her thighs and twisting hard, then springing off at an impossible angle and vanishing mid-somersault.
Even Pinkie is staring slack-jawed at what just happened.
Rarity clears her throat. "Ahem. Yes, well...Persona."
Tentarafoo
Wadjet-Bast appears and tugs on her vibrant red bolt of cloth. The loose end strikes out like a cobra, the gems sewn into the end glittering. It winds itself around Octavia's torso and rears, actually hissing as its diamond eyes stare down the Shadow.
//I...I think that—yes! The Shadow's skills are locked!//
"Does that mean she can't throw a glowy meteor of death at us?" Pinkie asks.
//Yes!//
Rarity flips her hair as Wadjet-Bast disappears. "You're welcome, darlings."
"Then let's finish this!" Twilight says. "ATHENA!"
Ziodyne
Athena zaps the chain. Octavia tries to fire off another death blast, but it fails. The rest of us cut loose with whatever we have. Every attack goes after either the chain itself or the part of the Shadow's torso it's connected to. With each strike, the Shadow's swaying and trembling and agonized moans become sharper, more frantic, and more pronounced.
Rarity's seemingly ineffectual gun proves to be the last straw; she empties the clip into the chain, and the chain breaks with a shrieking tear of stressed metal. The Shadow drops bonelessly to the floor, sprawled out in a heap.
//This is your chance for an All-Out Attack!//
"Let's do this!" I race forward, my axe at the ready. The others follow suit. For a full minute, we savagely beat the motionless monster. Finally, she lets out a loud, pathetic, pained moan. We're forced to back away quickly as a high-pressure stream of bloody vomit erupts from her mouth.
"EWW!" Pinkie cries. Rarity's cheeks bulge. Twilight turns away from the sight, bends low, and throws up.
When the firehose spray of vomit subsides, a second torrent of thin, greasy brown fluid pours forth like a garden hose at half pressure. It washes away the vomit, revealing a nude Octavia, covered in blood and grime and assorted gore. She pushes herself to her hands and knees, trembling as her hair curtains her face.
In the end, I suppose I couldn't stand on my own after all.
"That's not true," I say. "You stood up to your mother. You defended Vinyl. You chose, on your own, to take a chance on Vinyl, even though you didn't know whether or not you could even be in love with another girl. Even though you knew she was about to lose her eyesight. You could have said no to Vinyl. You could've kept being your mother's perfectly obedient little slave. But you didn't. You changed your own life, and you changed Vinyl's too. You made her life better and you made your own life better.
"But you're right about one thing. You need Vinyl just as much as she needs you. Because everybody needs the people they love. That doesn't mean you can't stand on your own. It means you don't have to."
Octavia stands up, brushing her hair away from her face.
I hadn't thought of it that way before. Thank you...
She fades away, leaving behind the Hanged Man card.
The ultimate power of the Hanged Man awakens unto Thee...
Thy Persona, Magus, has awakened to the skill Dark Eternal.
Use this power wisely...
As Cadance's Persona disappears, she yawns. "Twilight, I'll talk to you tomorrow night, okay? I think...I think tomorrow I'm going to talk to Shining Armor, see what's going on with him." She looks at the rest of us. "Kids...I think you need to talk to Sunset Shimmer. Find out what she knows about Red Flag."
Zecora reappears, hands clasped behind her back. "What path lies ahead remains to be seen," she says. "It depends on your deeds in the days in between. You should not tarry along the last length of the path that connects your heart to the Strength."
As the Velvet Room fades away, I dimly hear Rainbow Dash ask, "What the hell's THAT supposed to mean?"
