Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Persona EG! Hope you enjoy the starter, cause now we are jumping right in!
Chapter 1: School Spirit
Once the group exits the library, they find themselves running into the principals who just happened to be walking by. They shared surprised expressions to this little situation before Principal Celestia broke the silence.
"Oh, I didn't know you two are here." She starts with as the others recovered soon after, "What do I owe to this occasion?"
"Well, we're on important business as usual." Ren responds with, "Though, we do have some spare time to just hang around until then."
"Business?" Vice Principal Luna steps into the conversation, "May I ask what it is about?"
"Unfortunately, it would most likely involve the Friendship Games tomorrow." Yu decides to be honest with the answer, "We're not sure what, but something is gonna happen during it."
"Oh my." Principal Celestia was understandably concerned about the possibility.
"Is it also magic-related like before?" Vice Principal Luna guesses, which Sunset answers this time. "That is pretty up there, yeah."
The two principals glance at each other before looking back, "How strange. We were actually thinking about how to deal with the magic that's been popping up recently." Celestia mentions.
"Wait, really?" Rarity questions with the others curious as well.
"Yes. In fact, we were thinking of discussing this with Sunset." Luna answers, much to the group's interest.
"Me?" Sunset was a bit confused on that specific part.
Luna takes point in clarifying, "Since you're from a world that has magic as reality rather than fiction, we agreed on giving you the assignment of discovering how the magic in our world operates."
"Of course, your friends can gladly help out whenever you are stuck." Celestia chimes in while looking more so at Yu and Ren, "This proves to be great timing, now that I think about it."
"In that case, I'll do my best." Sunset reassures them with a smile.
Celestia and Luna smiles back at her response as the latter spoke, "That's good to hear."
"By the way, if you're looking for something to do, the clubs are still available to the students. Just be sure to be on time for the pep rally that'll start at noon." The former mentions, "Surely that will be enough time for an answer?"
"Hang on a second." Applejack spoke up, "Ya'll didn't say anything about a time limit."
The two principals thought about it for a moment, realizing that they left out that detail.
"Oh, right. With the Friendship Games coming up, we want to avoid magic showing up during it. Crystal Prep doesn't know what goes on around here and might accuse us of cheating. We hope to win the Games this year fair and square." Luna explains their reason for it.
"An answer in such a short time?" Yu wonders before looking at them with determination, "If those are the terms, then we'll give them our best shot!"
His enthusiasm was strong as it got the group motivated, Ren being impressed with the sudden shift since he had experienced that feeling before.
"Great! We'll see you at the rally then." With that said, the two took their leave.
Once they turn the corner, the group went on to talk among themselves.
"An answer by then? That's like telling me I have one day to sew a whole dress!" Rarity compares the two out loud, "It just sounds impossible!"
Pinkie then pops up next to her, "Don't worry! With Yu and Ren here, we'll have this in the bag! Right, Fluttershy?"
"...Yay." Her friend simply said in response.
Ren notices Sunset looking a bit troubled about this, "You all right?"
She looks at him for a moment before answering, "Yeah, just have a lot on my mind."
That has him curious, "Like what?"
"It's just that... ever since we defeated the Dazzlings, the magic we use started to appear without us playing music. It just shows up and leaves without warning. I've been thinking about how, but I don't have much to go off of." She admits.
"Which is probably why they wanted us to help out." Yu points out.
"I guess, but still..." Sunset stops herself as she starts to rub her head.
"You know what I do when I'm stuck on something?" Ren rhetorically asks her, getting her attention before answering it. "I take my mind off it, find something to do and relax to let your mind do the same."
"That's not a bad idea. How about we show you some of the clubs we have?" Rarity suggests, remembering what the principals said earlier.
"Where do you want to start?" Yu asks the group, which Sunset was the first to speak. "I got one."
They soon arrive in a classroom that features students currently playing games of chess, which features a couple of faces they recognize. One of them was sitting down watching when he sees the group, immediately going up to greet them.
"Hey, you must be the dudes that Flash was talking to earlier." He mentions from earlier as he held out his hand, "Name's Sandalwood."
The dude gave off the impression of loving nature, much to the point of wearing a recycling pin on his vest.
"That's right, you're in his band." Yu was direct with his words as he shook it.
"Yup. What brings you to the chess club?" Sandalwood asks them as Ren also shook his hand.
"Just looking around since we got some free time." Ren answers as the girls except for Sunset look for any empty sets to use.
Speaking of Sunset, she is still pretty distracted by her thoughts of the magic. At this point, she hopes that a game or two will ease her mind.
"Who wants to go first?" She overheard Fluttershy ask the others, which she immediately answers. "I'll go."
As the girls started on the first game, Yu and Ren were currently speaking with Sandalwood for the time being.
"Guess you're also a member here?" The former asks.
"Yup. I find it to be relaxing, calming the mind to win with a well-calculated strategy." Sandalwood gives a brief reason why in response, "It allows me to make peace with my opponent on the same level."
From the way he talks about it, Ren mentally compared it to shogi back in his world. Actually if he remembers correctly, the two are quite similar in terms of how they are played.
"How profound. Tell me more." Yu was rather intrigued by this.
Ren already knows the game, so he sorta tunes the two out as he watches the game the girls were currently playing. He was rather intrigued by the fact that despite her crowded thoughts, Sunset was in the lead. Rarity was a bit stumped at her previous move, making a mistake that her opponent capitalizes on to win.
"Checkmate." Sunset had a smirk on her face as the others gave her a small applause that was quiet enough to not disturb the other players.
Rarity accepts her defeat with grace, "Good game, Sunset."
"Mind if I try?" They then turn towards Ren who was coming over, "I'm curious on my own skills with this version of chess."
"What version are you used to playing?" Rarity asks as she gets out of the seat.
"Shogi. It's more... tactical, you could say? Something like that." Ren then takes the seat, "Ready when you are, Sunset."
Once the game starts, the two were pretty quick with their moves. Though, there were some times that Ren couldn't help but do something against the rules due to muscle memory, which he calls himself out on.
"Sorry, didn't mean that." He comments, placing the fourth piece he eliminated on the side.
"You're fine. Muscle memory is harder to ignore, trust me." Sunset knows that part from experience.
Ren lets out a small chuckle in response before speaking, "By the way, I like your outfit."
"...Are you distracting me?" She was understandably suspicious right before moving another piece.
"Sorry, just forgot to mention it earlier." He admits, "It suits the new you."
"Oh. Well, thank you." Sunset was caught off guard by the sudden compliment, feeling heat rise a bit in her cheeks as she observes the current board.
The other girls were also put off by his words, shifting their eyes between the two before coming to their own conclusions in their heads. The game soon came to a close with Sunset pulling a narrow victory against him. Ren had a content smile on his face, taking his defeat with grace as well.
"Well done." He said as he got up from his seat, "So, how did that do for you?"
"A bit better. Though, maybe a different activity might help." She suggests.
"Something more hands-on might work." Applejack adds, "You know, like building something or..."
"Maybe the art club would be nice." Fluttershy agrees with a different suggestion.
"All right, let's get going." Ren said before heading on over to Yu and Sandalwood.
Speaking of the two, they were sitting on the floor with their legs crossed, looking similar to meditation.
"Ease your mind and spirit in unison, only then will you find the true path." The latter spoke of his 'wise' words to the former who was into this, "I see. I will try."
"Don't mean to interrupt, but-" Ren spoke up, breaking their concentration. "We were thinking of checking out the other clubs, wanna come?"
"Oh." Yu then gets up to his feet before turning to Sandalwood and gives him a small bow, "Thanks for the advice."
"No problem, dude. Enjoy what our school has to offer." The latter simply said.
The group then arrive at the art club, where another familiar face was there doing a drawing of her own before noticing them.
"Sis!" Apple Bloom comes to them, giving Applejack a small hug upon reaching them.
"Hey there, Apple Bloom!" Her older sister greets her back, "Having fun in here?"
"Yup! Here, come take a look!"
The two went off to see the drawing as the others look around, Sunset being heard giggling a bit as she remembers something.
"Do you still have that painting of me?" She asks, more specifically towards Pinkie who gladly answers. "Of course! I make sure to even hang it in my room too!"
Yu had an art club back at Yasogami High and was rather impressed at the various projects the other members are working on. Ren has a friend who is an artist, so he was kinda more towards the paintings and drawings posted on the walls.
"What exactly is it, sugarcube?" Ren overhears Applejack say.
He walks on over to see a rough sketch of what seems to be them, specifically after the Battle of the Bands with the finale concert. Though, the way she drew them was not making it obvious.
"That's from our last visit, our little concert before the night ended." Ren points it out for her.
"Oh OK! Sorry, the extra members were throwing me off. I knew it was us in some way, though." AJ admits.
"Yeah, it was so vivid in my head that I wanted to put it on paper." Apple Bloom confirms what he thought.
Yu came over after looking at the collection of small statues, his eyes seeing the drawing soon after.
"Wow, nice sketch." He simply said as a comment.
"Ya really think so?" AB was glad about the positive feedback she's getting.
"Yeah. Though, the faces are so simplistic that they look the same." His rather sudden criticism caught them off guard a bit.
AB was a bit confused on what he means before looking at the drawing, "Oh! Then I gotta make them more detailed then!"
She got right to work as AJ walks over to Yu, "You don't pull your punches, do you?"
"I've been asked that sometimes." He answers with a simple response.
Fluttershy was also looking around until reaching Sunset, who was currently looking out the window at the moment.
"Something the matter?" She asks her, bringing her back from seemingly spacing out.
"I appreciate the help with the small tour, but how is it gonna help progress our investigation?" Sunset brought up a good point.
"Oh! Well, starting from the beginning always helps. Didn't we get the magic after the Fall Formal?" Fluttershy recalls.
"Yeah, but it didn't show up until we formed the band and played our first song." Sunset adds before muttering, "Successfully."
Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at their first practice session, "We were pretty bad at first."
Sunset smiles at that memory before getting back on topic, "Anyways, it stayed that way for some time until now. Why the sudden change?"
"Hmm... Maybe it's like an evolution in a way." Fluttershy theorizes, "Kinda like the caterpillar cycle."
"Evolving magic?" Sunset couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic, "Or maybe it's growing?"
"Maybe we don't rely on music to use magic now." Fluttershy wonders out loud.
"Honestly, I wish we did. At least there is consistency in how we summon it." Sunset admits.
"True-" Fluttershy was then interrupted by Rarity coming over, "Sorry, but have you two seen Pinkie?"
The two shook their head no, only to then hear a splash. Turns out, the party girl was already finishing another picture. "Done!"
The others turn to see what she did, seeing a coating of various colors on her canvas. Pinkie notices the confusion and then rips off the coating like it was a blanket, surprising them with a rather impressive painting.
"Is that us?" Yu points out.
Her painting shows a portrait frame of the two Persona users and Morgana, using their powers with Yu holding a card as the other two are in their Thieves attire. Upon seeing this, it made the girls realize something.
"Oh, that's right! Where's Morgana?" Fluttershy voices their curiosity to the boys.
"Well, it's strange. The ones that usually send us here told us that he was needed elsewhere. Sadly, we don't know much beyond that." Ren briefly explains.
"I was wondering why it was a bit quieter than usual." Pinkie comments on the difference.
"I hope he's doing all right." Fluttershy's concern was understandable.
"Don't worry, he can handle himself now." Ren reassures her before turning to Pinkie, "Plus, the painting is quite stunning."
"Thank you! I made sure to capture your likeness exactly!" Pinkie smiles at the compliment.
Sunset looks at the portrait with a sense of intrigue. Something about it was like a clue to her, but wasn't sure why. In the end, she can only shake her head in annoyance.
"Still nothing yet." She mutters to herself, which Yu overheard.
"On with the investigation, right?" He clarifies on what she means.
"Yes. I don't think the clubs are doing us any favors right now." She admits.
After a small exchange, and Apple Bloom wanting Pinkie to leave the painting for her to use as a reference, the group heads back into the hallways.
"Do you remember when you saw the magic starting to randomly manifest?" Yu questions the girls in general.
"Well for me, I was just tending to the animals at the shelter when one of the dogs got a splinter on his paw. Once I removed it, that's when my wings popped out." Fluttershy answers first.
"Me and Rainbow were hanging out at Sunset's place when me and her were competing in a game while she was doing some homework. We got a little carried away and kinda broke the controllers in the process. After we told her what happened, Ah suddenly got my hair all grown out!" AJ went next with her story.
"I was hired to do a young girl's birthday party and did my thing! It didn't long for my magic to pop out!" Pinkie summarizes her experience in one breath.
"I remember having a customer who wanted a beautiful dress in a week for her Christmas party. Unfortunately by the time she came to get it, she finds herself low on money to pay for my hard work. Of course, being the generous person I was on the holidays no less, I gave her the dress for free." Rarity recalls her experience.
As for Sunset, she can't seem to recollect any memories that are like those in comparison. "Sorry, I personally haven't experienced something like that yet."
"Interesting. You say it's random, but it seems that the magic comes out by your actions rather than just appearing most of the time." Ren deduces, "Though, AJ's is where I'm a bit stumped."
"Yeah. Why would her being hon-?" Yu was then cut off by a sudden yell from nearby.
"TAKE THIS!"
The group turn their attention to an opened door nearby, looking inside to see a couple of students seemingly acting out a scene. Two of them were doing some sort of action scene with the other two being the audience.
"Aha! You cannot match my power!" The one wearing a red beret dramatically exclaims.
"You think I would come unprepared!?" The one wearing glasses responds back before pulling out a random card, "You activated my-"
The four then realized that they had their own audience, seeing the group outside the door looking in. Silence fell upon the scene as they had an awkward staring contest for what seemed like an eternity until one of them finally spoke.
"Hi." Pinkie simply waves at the girls rather nonchalantly.
"...Hi." The glasses girl eventually said back.
"We didn't mean to interrupt. It's just that we heard someone yell." Yu explains why they are looking inside.
"Sorry, that was me." The beret girl admits, to her embarrassment.
Ren then enters the room with the others following behind, "We were just looking into the clubs around here before the Games."
The one with the scarf then speaks up, "Hold up. Aren't you two those 'Persona' guys?" She recalls from the previous school events.
The boys glance at each other before looking back at them, Yu giving them the answer. "Yes. I'm Yu Narukami and he's Ren Amamiya."
"Nice to meet you." Ren simply said.
Next thing they knew, the drama girls were getting quite excited at this, even muttering stuff to themselves before getting into a huddle.
"Oh my gosh, it's them."
"I know, I know! What should we do?"
"Introduce ourselves, duh."
"OK, then you go first."
The punk rock girl was then pushed by the others towards the boys a bit before she spoke, "The name's Cherry Crush."
The scarf girl then pops up from behind on her left, "Mystery Mint!"
The beret girl pops up from behind on her right, "Water Melody!"
And finally, the girl with glasses pops up from behind above her, "And Scribble Dee!"
"And together we are-"
The four then group up again before doing dramatic poses, "The drama club!"
The others were a bit confused at first until Pinkie starts to rapidly clap her hands together, "Bravo!"
"Yeah, good show." Yu agrees with her as he and the others gave them a round of applause.
"Thank you, thank you." Water Melody said as the four took a small bow.
As the applause dies down, Fluttershy then notices a mostly rolled-up poster of sorts on one of the desks close to her and unrolls it to see something interesting.
"What's that, Fluttershy?" Rarity notices her with the poster, unknowingly getting everyone else's attention.
"O-Oh. I think it's something for a play." Fluttershy then holds up the poster for them to see, "Is that right?"
The poster itself displays a familiar white domino mask on the back of a glowing blue card against a starry night background with the title under it, named 'Facade'.
"Huh, I wonder where they got that mask design." Ren playfully jokes about, already knowing it's his own.
"And the card." Yu adds more frankly.
"Shoot, it was supposed to be a surprise!" Cherry blurts out.
"Well, they're gonna find out eventually." Mystery simply said to ease her friend's disappointment, if only by a little bit.
Ren then grabs the poster to give it a closer inspection, "So, this is a play you girls are planning?"
"Yup! It's about a group of friends who finds a way to break free from the masks of the masses and find a place within themselves." Water gives out a brief summary.
"At least, that's what we got so far." Scribble admits, "But, maybe we can get a better idea if we... um..."
The others were curious on what she was about to say, "Do you need some help with it?" AJ guesses on what they were getting at.
"A tiny bit, yes." Scribble confirms for her.
"To get down to it, we're wondering if you two can show us how your powers work." Cherry was straightforward with their offer.
The four then did a little smile at the same time, hoping that the two may accept.
"Oh, I get it now." Sunset finally clicks it together, "They're fangirls."
"...I don't see why not." Yu simply said.
"All right." Ren simply agrees.
Both answers are to the point as the duo didn't mind at all, but the confirmation was enough to make the four excited. Making sure they had enough space, the two then prepared themselves.
"Come, Persona!"
Yu crushes the card in his hand just as Joker transforms into his phantom attire minus the mask, Izanagi and Arsene being brought into reality respectively. After the brief gust of wind subsided, the drama club was trying to not freak out as Pinkie decides to take a closer look.
"Whoa, these two look like ghosts!" She then stood in between the two Personas, her index fingers going closer to them until actually going through them. "They ARE ghosts!"
"Only those with Personas can make contact with other Personas." A mysterious voice was heard inside the room, making the others rather confused except for Joker and Yu.
"It's been quite awhile since I've heard you, Arsene." The former casually said as he turns to his Persona.
Arsene simply crosses his arms as he looks at Joker, "I've been dormant since our last battle. While my power hasn't dwindled, my voice was the last to return."
Sunset moves closer to try making conversation with the Persona, "Do you usually speak when you are summoned?"
He turns his head to look at Sunset, "All personas can speak to their users and anyone they are connected to, Sunset Shimmer."
"O-Oh, I see. Just Sunset is fine." She was surprised at how formal the Persona was in terms of his mannerisms.
"Very well, Sunset." He corrects himself, doing a really small bow in the process.
Yu looks on with interest as his Persona Izanagi does the same, coming off as more of the silent type compared to Arsene with his current posture, before Pinkie pops up in front of the latter.
"Can you also talk too!? What do you sound like!? I bet it's like deep and intimidating!" The hyperactive drummer was rather curious about this.
Izanagi was quiet for a moment before he spoke, "I can, and I sound like this."
"Oh. Wait, you kinda sound like-" Pinkie was about to point out, only for Yu to finish her sentence.
"Me?" He has a small smile on his face with that remark.
"Oh, is that why Arsene sounds like Ren?" She deduces from listening in on the previous conversation.
"Most likely." Izanagi simply said in response.
The rest of the Humane Six were just watching, not really sure on how to process this. Sunset was talking with Arsene as Izanagi was being pestered by Pinkie, the drama club in the background taking notes and watching with intrigue.
Speaking of Sunset, she took the opportunity to ask the most important question. "What exactly is a Persona? How does it work?"
"We are the manifestations of one's true self, a mask they wear to face various hardships. From the sea of souls, we emerge to become the spirit to protect who summons us in battle. Though, it seems that even in other worlds, the people here have the potential to do the same."
His explanation was rather insightful, though the last part has her attention. Before continuing on, the group then heard the intercom come to life.
"Attention, students. The pep rally will begin soon. Please come to the gym immediately."
After the Persona duo dismiss their Personas, the group then headed on towards the rally. However, Sunset was one of the last to follow as her thoughts were filled with the new info about how their powers work. However, they have yet to find an answer to their assignment. Hopefully, she can form an answer soon.
Earlier...
A young teen enters the familiar atmosphere of the Velvet Room with a irritated look on his face, "This place again..." He mutters to himself as he looks at his surroundings.
Seeing no one else around at the moment, he simply turns around in order to leave, only to stop as he sees something shining from the doorway. Curious on what it was, he simply strolls on over to check it out. The shine was currently coming from a portal of sorts, light surrounded by many colors in a circular motion.
Seeing it as the only way out, he casually walks into it to leave, only to then appear in a city of sorts instead of his home. There was no one around, but his face was especially evident of his shock.
"Where the hell am I?" The teen said out loud to himself as he looks at the tall buildings in the distance.
Looking behind himself for a moment, he didn't see the blue door that lead to the Velvet Room. Seeing that he was stuck here for the time being, he scratches his head through his bright red hair before letting out a sigh.
"Whatever..." He was getting more annoyed at his current situation, but knew that standing around ain't helping.
With a mix of curiosity and intuition, he then summons a dark portal to teleport towards the downtown city ahead, not knowing of the school past the statue next to him that would have his answers.
And done! So, it took me awhile to write this one mainly since I had to do research on the characters that are included in the clubs selected.
Starting out, the principals have a task for the group, which proves to be more difficult than they thought. Even after a small tour of the different clubs, their answer is not yet within their reach.
During all this, it seems that another Persona user has found himself in Canterlot. Who is he? Well, we shall see.
With that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!