Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Story: Persona 3 x My Little Pony
Losing Sight of the Shore Chapter 1: A New Land
Minato Arisato, the owner of the Universe Arcana, was at peace. His new domain was an endless expanse of nothingness. Where darkness itself was on bended knee before forces greater than it.
A sole mighty gate took station within the Abyss. Holding the malignant force behind the door was a single statue. Its visage was calm and accepting. It was the stationery prison of the Universe Arcana holder.
He was in a state of semi-consciousness. A tiredness had settled upon him at last. How long had he been in this empty realm? Hours, days, weeks, years, he had no means to keep track of time, nor was he sure he wanted to.
At least he could sleep soundly in his heart, no longer did he have to face the dangers and the evils of the world. In exchange for this security he had lost what he truly valued, freedom. At his weakest moments, it was a price too great, but his fond memories gave him strength. Each unbreakable bond reinforced his will, his perseverance, his sacrifice. No matter the length of time, even eternity, he would hold fast.
He was what could only be called a martyr. Now he awaited eternity, despite himself he felt his heart breaking. He longed for days that were now becoming distant memories. Almost desperately, he ached to be by their sides and enjoy his life, but that path was so distant now, nay lost. Self delusion was an action he wouldn't submit to. Being locked in this Abyss had tinted his words into philosophy, if only to break the monotony of this space.
Something had entered this domain. It wasn't so much seen as felt. It wasn't filled with the despair of his enemy nor his own resigned peacefulness. No, this entity was filled with a balanced and accepting aura. The visitor seemed to looked through him and come to understand him and his sacrifice. Such a soothing presence, he could not help but relish in it. Such a great contrast with this blasted abyss.
Feeling this visitor's presence was like getting a taste of water after suffering through the tortures of a drought. A forgotten pleasure, now rediscovered he wished to enjoy as much as possible. An unusual joy was spread through him. Calming himself he questioned the being.
"Why are you here? There is nothing of value here." Without a mouth to speak, or a voice to use, he was able to echo his thoughts in the vast void.
Truly? But what of you? Surely you cannot believe yourself to be inconsequential?
Was that pity in the being's voice. Not necessarily, this was a choice he made of his own free will.
I interact with little directly in my domain. On occasion I expand past my physical confinement and journey to experience and to learn. One can learn much when they open their eyes. There is still much for me to learn.
A noble sentiment. This being had restraint and humility. His fondness for the visitor had increased.
This void land holds a story of despair, hope, and struggle. You succeeded but you gave up much for them. Was it worth the pain?
"Yes." A single truthful word escaped him. Despite the regrets, doubts, and pain, he knew that it had been meaningful and most importantly his own choice.
He could sense mirth coming from the visitor. It seemed pleased?
Such devotion to always stand by your comrades and your morals. No matter the price, resistance, or fear. Your allegiance is astounding.
Was there ever any other way. Bonds based on treachery would be empty.
In your darkest moments you searched for the truth of yourself and the world around you. As you struggled with your own turmoil, you refused to avert your eyes from reality.
As a leader, he couldn't have allowed those following him to fall because he wanted blissful ignorance. To surrender to lies was never an option.
Munificence without bounds as well. You challenged beings beyond your grasp and power, yet you always had time to spare for those you loved. Be them your comrade in arms or not.
Fighting ability had never been a factor. If those he cared about despaired, how could he turn them away? Although in the beginning he couldn't understand them, he learned and held those feelings. If he could, he gave what little he had to them.
Your benevolence united many hearts as one. Those that had lost themselves in greed, those who faced their end, even those that held jealousy towards you, you showed love towards them. Though ugly at times, you exercised empathy and care.
He couldn't help but have a dry chuckle. Those were all parts of his fond memories. He hoped they were fulfilled in the end.
With your own flair of style and eccentricity, you gave those who needed it most joy. Those who were steeped in dreariness or hardness. Though you weren't always the greatest at it.
Humor hadn't been his strongest aspect. The others were always better. He had tried when he could.
Your skills in the arcane cannot be ignored. Fire, ice, wind, lighting, holy, darkness and much more. You could even call forth beings that were part of your psyche to defend all you stood for.
Those of the Velvet Room had always commented on his sheer potential. Why did this concern her? Was she somehow judging him?
I see now, it was most fortunate I came across you. You do not deserve a future of loneliness or emptiness. If you will allow me, I will take you from this place.
A feeling of hope welled up from him. He could go back to them. As though it was reading his thoughts, the presence corrected him.
Sadly I cannot bring you back from whence you came. You made the decision to leave it behind. I cannot easily override your sacrifice. I am dearly sorry. Instead I offer you a new realm, my domain to once again roam free.
He couldn't, wouldn't leave the seal to fall out. It was a pity, he had hoped.
You need not concern yourself with the seal. Your body now acts as the shield that protects your home. It is your soul, your consciousness, your mind that will be brought over. What say you?
He couldn't express his gratefulness to his benefactor. It had come to relieve him of his self-imposed exile. "Thank you."
It is my pleasure. There is but one thing I must ask of you.
There was? If his experiences were to be used, it would be a contract of some kind. There must be some foe he had to combat.
Nothing as formal as a contract. I merely want you to promise to do what you feel is right. I have faith in your word.
With a solemn tone he made the promise. "I promise to do what I feel is right."
I know you will. May we meet again.
An astral image of himself came out of his stone body. Before he could make sense of the happenings, he fell through the bottom of the Abyss. As he fell, he made impact to the 'bottom' of the realm and it sounded as though he just hit a body of water.
His image swirled and twirled all around before coming to a light. He picked up speed and rocketed towards the light. A solid ground of light. With no way to move or stop the descent, he closed his eyes, covered his face, and prepared for the pain of impact.
It never came.
...
A single body laid unmoving in a light blanket of snow. Feeling his senses returning, Minato groaned and slowly moved and shook the snow that had piled upon him. His scope of range was a lot more restricted than he had last remembers.
Looking around, he found himself at the edge of a dense forest. Despite the freezing temperatures, the trees looked alive and well, spurts of green could be seen just beneath the ever layering piles of snow. A steady stream of snow had covered his head as he studied his surroundings.
It was actually cold. He could feel again. It wasn't a memory but the actually body's reaction to a cold object. He could laugh now, he had an actual body again. If he focused some, he could hear the rustle of the trees in conjunction to the increase of snow on the branches.
Taking a deep breath, he enjoyed the stinging of his lungs in reaction to the frigid cold. Relief washed over him, it was all true. For a frightening moment, the living sacrifice had thought himself delusional. A mystical voice offering him freedom, with no strings attached, would have been the stuff of fairytales.
Then again, the creatures he fought in the past could have been the things of horror tales. Getting past his giddiness, he motioned his hand to wipe the snow finding residence on his head. To his shock, he found not a hand, but a furry forelimb.
What matter of creature was he now? Looking for a means to identify himself, he saw a pond ahead of him. The pond was supposed to be a few minutes of travel ahead, but Minato had to accustom himself to moving steadily on four limbs. Synching his back and fore limbs had been a bit of a challenge and had almost doubled the travel time.
Coming to the pond, it was of little surprise to the boy to find it was frozen. Regardless, this could still prove useful to him. He looked upon the frozen surface and could only raise a single eyebrow at his new form.
Minato now had the body of a young horse. If he had to make assumptions, it would be around toddler or preschooler age. His coat was a grey blue with a horse's equivalent of dark blue hair, in addition to a tail. Connected to his head was a horn and to each side of his body were wings. His initial thoughts had been incorrect, he was not a horse, but a winged unicorn.
"What am I? A pegacorn? No. No. How about unisus? Yes that's what I am. It rolls nicely off the tongue. An unisus. Minato the unisus. So this is my new body." He spoke to no one in particular. It seemed fate always got the last laugh.
It would be very disrespectful and ungrateful to complain about the change in physiology. Now that he got a good look at himself, he needed to find some means of providing for himself. Maybe later he would look for sentient life.
"Someone help!" A voice called out.
Hearing the dire need in the voice, Minato followed the sound of the cries. As he got closer he heard frantic splashing. There was a mesh of brown slim limbs and ice water slush.
"Please help me! I can't swim."
This was serious. If the high pitch voice was any indication, it was a child like his body. As much as he would like to jump in and help, he wasn't comfortable in his new body to rescue someone.
The next logical step was to summon one of his myriad of Personas. He searched within his sea of souls for a suitable beings. In this case Orpheus would do. As usual he sent a call and awaited the arrival of his original Persona.
Nothing.
His call went unanswered. This wasn't right. By this point summoning had become second nature to him. The change in his body must be the cause of this dilemma. There was some kind of blockage in his body. All his Personas were willing and able, they simply could not force themselves through this mysterious blockage. Now was not the time to experiment, though.
Time was of the essence. Quickly scanning the areas around him, Minato became interested in the multitudes of trees across a clearing. Using speed he wasn't aware he still had, he reached his goal within a minute.
"Come on there have to be some here. I can't let that kid drown. Aha, there!" Triumph was rich in his voice. Just around a number of the trees were the vines he had been hopeful to find. Without wasting a moment more, he ripped the vines of the barks of the trees, using his teeth.
Ignoring the oddly scrumptious taste of the vines, he was able to collect enough to create a thick rope. Awkwardly the former human used his hoofs to twist the vines together into look like structures. To tighten the rope, he used his teeth to yank the loops to make a loop of appropriate size .
With little time to enjoy his success in knot tying, he dashed back to unknown drowning victim. He used his new gained mouth to toss the rope around the kid, just as he was sinking to the bottom. Assured that the loop would hold, he began an arduous process of dragging one of his body weight from the depths of a watery grave.
At this point the constant running was causing his legs to burn in exhaustion, but he couldn't allow this to deter him. Little by little the nearly drowned child was pulled out of the frozen water. Shaken by the experience, but otherwise safe.
Now that the danger had passed, Minato took the time to really observe the one he had saved. It was a young deer. Majority of his body had brown fur. A darker brown batch of fur ran from the top of his head to the tail. The underbelly of the deer was a very light brown that almost appeared white. Patches of white fur were peppered on each of his sides near his back.
This was an interesting sight. The young deer's presence gave credit to his belief that animals may have sentience in this world. Now a number of other queries came to mind. What other species filled this land? How was the political environment, if they were any? Did horses have a land to their own? Either way he most likely wouldn't be finding these answers right now. The best he could do was calm the jittery deer.
The sniffles from the deer finally ceased by the time Minato decided to commute with him. He was cut off by the deer saying his thanks and introduction. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. I'm Bambi who are you?"
"My name is Minato Arisato and you're welcome. What is a small deer like you doing by yourself." He questioned the deer. This was an opportunity to establish some contacts with the locals.
Bambi seemed to take offense to this. He went so far as to puff up his chest. "I am not small, besides I'm still growing. Soon I'll be as big as my dad and my antlers will be just as cool."
Minato internally made note not to mention Bambi's size in conversation. Agitation was not needed at the moment. It seemed that Bambi was prepared to talk after some quick apologies.
"I was with my mom taking a stroll. Then there was this amazing flying thing in the sky. I think it was a rare bird. It was moving away and I had to keep up with it, or I wouldn't see it again. I told mom, but she didn't keep up. Now I lost her. I was going to follow the tracks back to her, but the wind blew them out. All the wind made it hard to see so I couldn't tell I was on ice and fell through. But it's okay now. With the two of us, we'll find mom in no time." Bambi finished with a spring in his step.
Somehow Minato doubted that he would be of any help. This was a foreign land and more importantly a foreign world. There was little help he could give Bambi. Then again, they wasn't any need to make his new companion distressed. Lost children could be really panicky. For now he would join in this search.
"We won't find your mother here. It's best we keep moving. Do you know the general area your were with your mother? If there is a search party, that's where they would start." Minato suggested to his soon to be travel companion.
"I walked from back there in the forest. Let's get moving." Bambi said as he pointed directly behind the pair. The area was a denser part of the forest.
And the pair were off. A comfortable silence reigned over them. The only sounds that met them were the crunching of their hoofs atop the leaves and snow. A party of footprints left in their wake. Their journey led them through arcing slopes and dried brooks.
The only entertainment available was what mother nature had to give. A silent game of kick the stone, short races, and even I Spy. Soon the Sun began to set and the night took over the forest. Shelter would have to be found soon.
Stars danced in the night sky. If Minato didn't know better, it appeared that the stars came and went as they pleased. Some became brighter, others warped into beautiful patterns. Odd.
Bambi was of different mind of the night. Where Minato saw the beauty of the stars, hidden shadows hiding beasts came to the young deer's sight. The once pretty and normal trees became foul monsters that were out to get him.
Snow covered bushes became nests of evil and tricks. A shiver not of cold, but of fear coursed through him. His eyes dilated and his stride became unsteady. Bambi could no longer see the path ahead as easily. Now he had only his imagination to paint the picture of what laid ahead. It was scary.
"Be strong Bambi. When we find your mother, you want to show her how brave you were, right?" The blue unisus encouraged softly. He had been aware of the slowly growing fright that had overcome his travel companion.
A timid nod was given by the deer. Thinking of his worried mom, he stood a little straighter and marched forward as though he was a soldier.
Glad to have put the Bambi in a better mood, he returned his sights to finding shelter. Not long after his sights came to a small cave that was at the base of a fairly large tree. It looked big enough to fit the two comfortably, with plenty of space to spare. He signaled his friend to march to the cave.
The pair shivered within the cave. Night had cooled the forest even further. What had been a nip became sting of chilling wind. Bambi's coat was more suitable for the temperatures outside.
Bambi sighed tiredly. "If mom was here, she would make a big pot of her vegetable stew! I could use some of that right now, it fills and warms you up. When we find her, you can get a big pot, just you wait!"
Vegetable stew, that would hit the spot right now. The once human shook his head, now was not the time to complain about what he didn't have. What was needed right now was warmth. Scattered around the cave were dry sticks.
"Hey Bambi can you help me collect firewood? I want to try out my magic."
This got Bambi's attention. He had never seen unicorn magic, or whatever his friend was. He had the wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn. Whatever, he had a horn and probably could do unicorn magic!
With their combined efforts, they were able to collect a nice sizeable pile in the center of the cave.
Now the hard part, magic. Since gaining this new form, he felt an abundance of energy within his form. It was anchored to his spirit at all times and felt like a weight, albeit a comfortable one. If he was correct about Greek mythology, it was his magic. Thinking back on his experience wielding Personas, fire spells had brought a sense of warmth to his body, no matter the damage it did to other.
With that in mind, he pushed forth the well within him and circulated it around his body to mimic the feeling he got from his Personas. Power itself seemed to pump through his vein. Oh, it was nothing compared to his Personas, even the weakest, but it would due. Besides his form was small, he would likely grow into it.
His heart rate accelerated and his senses were slighter heightened. Keeping the source pumping was tiring to say the least. Good he was maintaining a steady supply now. Next step was to push it through the body as though it went out of his pores.
He immediately regretted it. Pain surged through ever muscle in his body. So unprepared for the pain, he fell to his knees, gritting his teeth. It felt as though every muscle had been sore and twisted.
Bambi was afraid for his friend. One moment he had been closing his eyes and thinking, the next he looked ready to scream. He never heard that unicorn magic hurt. Maybe he was new to magic. All he could do was walk around in worry.
The pain eventually subsided and he gasped for air. His body felt fine now, no phantom pains. So that had been a failure. Looking up he saw a frightened Bambi. "Sorry about that. I never used magic before. I'm still working on it."
"That's ok. I'm happy you doing better. Boy unicorn magic must be hard. Maybe you should try again?" He asked hopefully. Second try could be the charm.
"Yeah give me a moment to catch my breath." Now that method was crossed out he would have to approach this from another angle. He was no longer a human, he was part unicorn. Unicorn, that was the key! Mythos around unicorns tended to attribute their magic to their horns. Once again he circulated the magic well and instead of pushes out of his pores, he pushed it out of his horn.
The pain was far worse. Apparently, a unicorn or unisus' horn was sensitive. His body didn't seem to appreciate his poor attempts in magic. Unlike the first time, he had been prepared for a backlash. Minato gritted his teeth through the pain. Despite his preparation, some tears leaked out of his eyes. Never having had a horn before, he couldn't well describe the pain that descended on him. It was like stabbing a sore atrophied muscle. After a longer passage of time, he was alright.
Why hadn't that worked? Horns had to be the key, but he was obviously still doing something wrong. How could he get the magic flowing?
"Hey! I think you're doing it! Your horns getting all bright!" An excited Bambi called out. He was jumping up and down and around the cave. Not only was it cool, it made the cave a lot less scary.
A smile found itself on Minato's lips. At least someone was appreciating his efforts. Why was his horn working now, he hadn't been pushing it. Wait pushing? That was it! The magic couldn't be forced or bullied, it had to guided, like a flame through a line of wood.
One last try. He tried to beckon the magic through the horn, only slowly controlling the amount he was leading through the horn. An even brighter light was produced. Now he beckoned the magic to take form of an Agi spell to call forth a small flame. A portion of the magic left his horn and drained him. A steady stream of flickers fell down the horn.
While nowhere near as powerful as he was accustomed to, it caused the twigs to catch on fire. Feeding on the wood, the fire became a workable size, providing both light and heat to the two lost travelers.
Bambi clapped his forelimbs in applause. Magic was as cool as he thought it would be. "Wow Minato you did it! You did magic all by yourself. In just three times too. I bet that's the fastest any unicorn, or whatever you are, did magic!"
'Isn't he an excitable one.' Minato could only smile at the bundle of four legged energy. As said bundle jumped around the cave, his stomach rumbled. A sheepish smile found its way on the deer's face.
"I'm pretty hungry, how about you? My dad taught me how to find food in the forest. Want to find some with me?" Bambi asked hopefully, his new friend didn't seem too scared of forest and it would be easier with another along.
To his relief Minato agreed to help. The pair went out to search for something edible. Minato was honestly surprised how much they was to find in the forest. Camping had never really been an interest of his before. Bambi had been able to identify a number of edible fruits and herbs. Once he knew what to look for, Minato higher observational skills put him ahead of Bambi in collection. Bambi seemed more impressed than anything.
Once they were back in the cave, Minato had instructed Bambi to find some more sticks. He was quite happy to be of assistance. Soon they were making fruit and herb shish kabobs. It was filled with blueberries, raspberries, mint, and rose merry. A yield he didn't believe should have been able to survive the winter weather. Well he wasn't a expert in such things.
They laid down the sticks to roast inside the fire. Not long after the aroma of roasted fruit filled the cave. It was enough to make even Minato's mouth water. He could not remember the last time he had eaten, or felt hunger for that matter. They pulled the shish kabobs as the contents gained a nice tan.
Fruits and roots never tasted so good. His palette could feel the richness of the berries. Even the herbs tasted far better. Instead of being garnish, it could have been a meal all on its own. The mint was especially powerful. It went without saying, but the meal was delicious.
If the smile on Bambi's face was any indication, he enjoyed the meal too. After the meal, Minato used the dirt to bring the fire down to embers. The two huddled together for warmth and went to sleep for the night.
His first night of the rest of his life had been an adventure.
...
Sunlight broke through the darkness of the cave. Its light awoke the two temporary occupants of the cave.
"Get up Minato! It's a new day and we can keep looking for my parents." Bambi excitingly prodded Minato with his nose. Food, a night of sleep, and daylight had put him in better spirits.
"Not so loud, I'm right here. Why don't we sit right here and just enjoy the slightly warmer temperature?"
"Don't be lazy Minato. My parents won't find themselves. Let's go." Bambi was definitely a morning person.
Well there went his chance of sleeping in. With regret etched on his face he got himself ready to go. He blew out the cooling embers, stretched and shook his hooves. "Alright already. Just lead the way."
Lead he did. Through a path out of the trees. Across a sea of snow and around slopes of snow. It was a hunch, but Minato didn't think Bambi knew how to get back to his home. Either that or their living area was pretty well hidden. A quick look at a frantic deer cement his premonition.
It was time to distract him with conversation. "So why don't you tell me about your parents. What do they do?"
Nodding his head at a familiar subject, Bambi began speaking. "Douce, my mom, is the nicest lady ever. She teaches me a bunch of things, like about unicorns, deer, and whatever I don't know about. She tells the best nighttime stories too. My favorite is about the Forest Spirit. I'll tell you about that later. Oh, and when I behave she sometimes give me sweets. They're yummy."
Minato couldn't help but smile at Bambi's excitement. He personally never had strong ties with his family. Most of the time he was juggled between relatives until he could watch after himself. They never been cruel or mean spirited, they simply weren't that close. Although if he was honest, he played a part with his apathetic attitude.
"Then there's my dad, Forest Prince. He's the boss of all deer and protector of the forest. He's the toughest stag of all time. You should see his antlers, I can wait to get mine. He knows a lot of stuff about forests. That's how I know what you can eat."He finished proud of being his father's son.
The conversation went on in a similar vein until they reached a frozen river at the bottom of a hill they were trotting down. Minato saw Bambi continuing his trek to the river and stopped him.
"Hold on Bambi. We don't know how sturdy the ice is. You could fall through again." He warned sternly. They had been fortunate last time. He didn't have the means to safe him a second time.
"That was different. I didn't know I was on the ice until I fell through. I learned how to prance, so this will be easy." Answered the deer as though it was common knowledge.
Running his eyes up and down the deer's body, Minato wasn't really convinced.
Seeing the disbelieve on his friend's face, Bambi explained further. "Prancing is the opt.. opini...best way for a deer to go long distances without getting tired, or straining their ankles. My dad told me that. Just do what I do." In a burst of speed, Bambi leapt at the ice.
In a display the eased Minato's nerves, Bambi did hopping like motions in the frozen river. There were only small indentions on the ice that proved he had touched the spot. He zigzagged over the ice, never really staying in one spot for more than a second. Just like that, he ending on the other side of the river.
Minato wasn't too prideful to admit that he couldn't hope to do that on one try. Maybe his so called friend should've waited and properly explained how to do this prancing. Now the kid was looking at him with expectation. This kid must want to kill him. For the multiple time since meeting this kid, he sighed in resignation. Taking a breath he did his own version of the prance.
And he failed.
Not two seconds after his start, he clipped his own forelimb with his hind limb and began sledding across the river. For added fun, he begun spinning as well. Mercifully, he reached the end of the river. His face came in contact with the snowy ground. At least it was soft.
Bambi couldn't contain the giggling. Minato couldn't say he was as amused, that had been embarrassing. Blasted little horse body.
Noticing his blue friend's agitation, Bambi decided to stop and help him to his hooves. "Sorry about that. It was a good first try."
"I'm sure. Is that the path to your home?"
In the direction Minato pointed, there was an intricate ice bridge. Its width was about 50 ft wide and connected two sides of a valley. The rails of the bridge depicted clouds and an image of a horse? He wasn't quite sure.
"Maybe?"
"That's reassuring." Minato said rather dryly.
Well he was sure they could handle whatever was on the other side.
...
The sight before them was beautiful. Unlike the rest of the landscape, there was no snowfall. There are piles of ice, but no snow, and the flat surface held enough traction to walk normally. Each of the trees were sculptures of ice, that glistened in the sunlight.
This place seemed to sap the warmth right out of their bodies. At this point, he probably wouldn't have survived without his coat.
Still the sight was awe aspiring, magnificent, and not where they needed to be.
"I think we're lost." Bambi mumbled lowly.
"MOVE!" Minato shouted. He rammed into Bambi and the two sled away. Seconds later a gust blew over them and a creature collided into the ground.
Said creature had the body of a fully grown horse. Its form was translucent blue with eyes of the most chilling blue. Cracks formed underneath where it had collided.
Not wanting to give the creature too much time, he got Bambi. "Move it. We got to get to the trees. It might provide some covering until we can figure out what to do! Hurry!"
The two didn't say any more words, but instead dashed for the ice trees. They were in what he believed was a nice cluster. Although he didn't feel that the shadows would be enough to keep them safe long.
An out of breath Bambi beckoned to him. "Can't you get him to stop? You both are ponies, right? I mean, it's worth a try."
He got a resolute shake of the head. "No good. It wants me just as much as you. It sure didn't look like it was trying to avoid hurting me."
A gush of air blew over them. Slowly the two looked above them. Blue eyes of rage were directed towards them. If he wasn't mistaken, the horse had a smug look on its face. Now that wouldn't do.
Using his newly acquired magic skills, he flung flitters of fire into the horse's face. It was a direct hit. It neighed in pain and was thrashing the tree it had been floating above. Both targets ran for the bridge with haste.
The flames on the horses' face exploded and a blaze of heat and light. As the fires die down, the creature was worse for the wear. Its face is singed and blue gashes covered the front of its body.
Its eyes narrowed in rage and it caught sight of its prey. With a single leap, it jumped into the air and morphed its legs into wind and flew towards the little ones. Blood would be shed.
Minato was in a crisis. The magic attack took a lot out of him. Simply running was taking a toll on his young body. Frustration welled up, he had faced too much to have his body simply give out from some exertion.
Mercifully they were near the bridge. If they could cross, then they was plenty of areas to hide. They were almost there.
The budding hope was ruthlessly killed. Like an eagle swooping down prey, it came down in a gust of wind and captured Bambi! Minato had narrowly evaded its grasp, tumbling to a halt.
Looking up in the sky, he saw Bambi, for a lack of better wording, freeze up like a deer in headlights. This situation was deteriorating fast. Ignoring the burning in his knees, he followed the specter from the ground. It wanted to take Bambi somewhere, so he had until it reached its destination to free his brown furred friend.
But there was only so much his little legs could do. Steadily the distance between him and Bambi increased. Running wasn't working, his next option was magic again. From the previous confrontation, fire seemed to wound suitably. Good, a weakness. He could work with that.
Another shot of fire magic made its way to the creature. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly strong enough to make the trip. He could almost hear the creature mock him with its snide laughter. He needed more power. Minato's magic capacity wasn't empty just yet. So he overcharged the spell.
The results were disastrous. Instead of a stronger fire, it merely blew up in his face. Fire and smokes bellowed from his spot.
Bambi couldn't believe his eyes. Minato, his new friend, just blew himself up trying to save him. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. He could've ran away, but he came back for him. Now he was just a pile of flames and ashes.
This was all this thing's fault. They would've found his parents eventually, he just knew it. Now he could never show his parents his new friend, or hang out him again. These past two days had been scary, but fun at the same time. Minato had been a true friend.
Bambi narrowed his eyes at the creature. It hurt his friend and he wasn't going to take it. He started to bang his head against the creature. While not painful, it was irritating enough to get it to slow down.
To the surprise of both the beast and the young deer, a figure moved out of the wreckage. It was Minato, singed and heavily wounded. His steps were unsteady and each one caused him to winch and grit his teeth.
Things were not looking good. This body was too weak and unprepared for the harshness of battle. He may not walk away from another wound like that. But failure was not an option. Bambi was counting on him.
With a soft and hoarse voice Minato addressed the creature that had his friend captive. "I don't know what you are, or your motives. But I'm going to make myself clear. I do not fear you. I have walked to foes greater than you and cut them down. I have been broken further than this and carried on. I've seen death for what it is and conquered it. So tell me creature, are you prepared to face something greater than you!?"
This enraged the beast. This puny, insignificant child believed itself greater? The creature spun around and with a battle cry lunged from the skies towards Minato.
"I will save Bambi. No matter the cost. I can do this, I WILL do this. The bonds I built with Bambi will overcome this." Minato said with conviction.
In the sea of his soul, power erupted. Beyond logic and reason, something crumbled. He had them. Those that had been blocked just beneath the surface. He called out to them and they came. Tearing down all blockades, all weakness, and despair.
He was ready.
They were prepared.
He needed but to say it.
Call it. Accept it. Reach in to himself.
To his potential.
"Per-" A single card appeared before Minato. He willed it to shatter.
"so-" A shatter echoed through the frozen landscape.
"na" To the dismay of the beast a creature of power arose.
The Persona had the form of a young woman. She wore a black skin tight bodysuit with a white fur coat. The base of her nose upwards was chalk white, while beneath it was pitch black. On each cheek were three white horizontal bars. A lone white tail poked through the back of the body suit. On top of head was hair of unnatural silver. But what struck fear into the creature was the bright slit yellow eyes. Eyes that would see its demise.
"Nekomata."
I Heed Your Call My Summoner. Let Our Might Tear Down Your Foe.
"CLEAVE." Minato commanded his Persona. Nekomata released her sharp claws.
The claws of the cat woman tore through the air, creating a discharge that hit the creature head on.
It screeched in pain. Blue life essence flowed from the gashes on its body. While in its throes of pain, it dropped its hostage. With a mere thought, he willed Nekomata to catch the bewildered deer. Minato's Persona kneed down and released Bambi, who promptly ran up to his friend to check up on his condition.
"You're finished. AGI." Minato commanded. Nekomata raised her right hand and released a fireball upon her foe.
The ethereal horse was engulfed in flames and knew pain. It dropped to the flow and writhed from the burns. Desperation set in as it futilely attempted to smother the flames. Minato watched on in apathy as the horse creature was devoured in flames.
Another enemy crushed under his Personas.
Silently, Nekomata dispersed. His stance was weak now. The battle was finally taking its toll on his young body. It became harder to keep his eyes open. But it was fine, the enemy was gone and his new friend safe. He could rest now. Minato welcomed the sleep that came over him as he laid down.
"What's that?" Bambi gasped at the sight before him. Something was forming on his sleeping friend's backside. It was the image of the vastness of space. Within it was an elliptical galaxy with stars, planets, and moons contained almost every space.
The young deer thoughts were stopped as he heard the sound of footsteps. Turning around he saw his father! He cried as he ran up to him and received a hug. Now it was time for him and his new friend to go home.
He couldn't wait to tell them all about Minato.
Author's Note
Welcome to the first chapter of Alluring Archives. I have a bad habit of starting fics and dragging on the writing process. Before I knew it, I had files of fics that was collecting dust. So I decided to post them here so I wouldn't have a bunch of unfinished stories.
As always I appreciate feedback on my writing. This chapter was a crossover of MLP and Persona 3. I really wanted to expand on the MLP universe, so they are other races of note, such as the deer. The Losing Sight of the Shore segments would follow Minato's life in this new land. Three guesses on who brought him here. Hint: It wasn't an alicorn.
If I get enough positive reviews on a segment, I might be tempted to make a fic of it.
Until next time.