Fanfic / Persona EG

S.Links are Magic!

Flash Sentry has always had something of a solitary life. Distant from his parents, with very few real friends, he lived life one day at a time in the rainy climate of Seaddle, with only his guitar to pass the time.

When his parents' jobs take them overseas for a year, they send Flash to Canterlot, where he will attend Canterlot High School and live in the dorms.

But who is the mysterious long-nosed man that appears in a dream? What is "Persona"?

Now Flash must adjust to life in a new town and school, make new friends, battle evil creatures that threaten mankind, and solve the mystery lurking within Canterlot's social media network.

He's about to learn just how much a young man's life can change in a single year... And uncover some of the truths hidden beneath the veil of society.

A Persona / My Little Pony: Equestria Girls crossover written by MythrilMoth. Updates daily to mimic story progression in the style of Persona 3 and Persona 4.

The story can be read here, or on the author's website here; the latter is known as the "LTE version", a more mature-rated director's cut equivalent to the story. There is a collection of non-canon side stories called Persona EG If.

On May 6, 2019, MythrilMoth unfortunately passed away, but the story's coauthor Zef is planning to continue the story.

---

The following tropes are associated with Persona EG:

• The Ace: As the resident Wild Card, Flash is this for the Zodiac Investigation Team.
• Adaptational Badass: Flash is a Wild Card, is very good at playing Guitar, seems to be a Chick Magnet, and has gotten good at swinging a battle ax around. Not bad for a fairly minor character from the Equestria Girls movies.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Chrysalis. She's just a former disgraced CEO trying to find a job and support her seven children. Once Flash realizes a way to help her, she is welcomed into CHS with open arms.
  • Sonata. A normal girl who loves music and singing. After losing her sisters and her voice in a car crash, she is overjoyed to finally have friends that help and support her through her troubles.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • Fluttershy is revealed to be the antagonistic Persona user Eris. Even after her Heel–Face Turn, she's still very snide and hard to deal with.
  • Babs Seed. In the show, she only bullied the CMC to avoid being bullied herself. Here, she is described by Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom to be even worse than Diamond Tiara, doing things like smoking in the bathroom and hitting others.
  • Pinkie Pie's parents are complete jerks and eventually disown her. In the show, her parents are old fashioned but still accept their strange daughter.
  • Sunset Shimmer, who's jarringly portrayed as outright villainous compared to her Reformed, but Rejected personality in My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks and its sequels. The author has stated that the fic is an Alternate Universe to Equestria Girls itself, and any canon events would not have bearing on the story whatsoever.
• All Men Are Perverts: Most everyone has sex on their minds.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Everyone in Applewood has been a target for bullying and harassment.
• All Women Are Lustful: Most everyone has sex on their minds.
• Almighty Janitor: An oddly literal example, Juan the Janitor has Tier 3 access to the school social network, Canterbook. Turns out there's a good reason for this. Juan was the designer of a social networking system about a decade back called Project: Wondercolt. Sadly, the students then, as with now, figured out they could use Wondercolt to bully other students. This resulted in suicides and even school shootings, and Wondercolt was taken down. Juan was discredited and his career in networking ruined. Fortunately, Celestia knew it wasn't his fault, and hired him as a janitor and gave him Tier 3 Access to Canterbook.
• And Now for Someone Completely Different:
  • 2/6 part 2 shows a conversation between Eris and Mephistopheles.
  • 5/22 part 3 involves a Hunter Shadow splitting itself to attack two different targets at the same time; Flash leads the away team, while Fluttershy gets to narrate the other fight.
  • In the wake of Flash sleeping with Trixie, a couple of interludes are told from Twilight's point of view.
• Asshole Victim: Snips. Nobody is sad that much when he is killed by Aquarius and are more upset that they missed their chance to kill Aquarius. Though they do still respect him enough to go to the assembly in his honor, believing he didn't deserve to die.
• Back Story: We FINALLY get Fluttershy's full story on March 29 after the Aries fight and Fluttershy's Heel–Face Turn. She was homeschooled her whole life until she went to Canterlot High, during which time she developed a love of computers and programming. When she finally went to CHS, she was relentlessly bullied, and ended up hacking into Canterbook so she could get even with her bullies. Along the way, she found Zodiac, was pulled in, and awakened Eris. Then, she started tormenting others online, and was found out by a teacher, Amethyst Star, who she crippled using her Zodiac training. Sunset finds out about this, and we know the rest.
• Bad Boss: Sunset. She lets one of her lackeys get expelled, got another one killed, and the last is blackmailed.
• Barrier Change Boss: Pisces could erect a shield that is only penetrated by one element. "Could" being the operative word once Sonata awakens her Persona and jams it somehow.
• Bathroom Brawl: Downplayed on 9/2. A few boys in the restroom make fun of Flash's friends and he punches one guy and shoves another one. They don't fight back at all, rather, they report Flash to Celestia. Thankfully, she doesn't punish him because of what the boys were saying, but she tells him not to do that again.
• Battle Couple: Flash and Twilight have become this by the later chapters.
• Because I Said So: This is Flash's response when Rainbow asks why he gets to decide how they split the rooms during Spring Break.
• Beneath the Mask: Due to the frequency of her snide comments and her hostility towards others, Fluttershy is not as timid or sweet as she seems to be. Especially so when she's Eris.
• Berserk Button: Do not speak ill of Flash's friends.
  • Or try to humiliate his girlfriend. He's not above making death threats to put a stop to it.
  • Twilight is shown to have her own. Do not put Flash in grave danger or kill him in front of her. Fluttershy and Trixie's Shadow found that out the hard way.
• Betty and Veronica: Twilight and Pinkie. While Twilight is openly dating Flash, Pinkie frequently makes not-so-subtle advances on Flash, states that she has considered trying to steal him, and later concedes that she would be fine with being a side relationship to both of them. During winter break, Flash and Twilight determine that she really means it.
• Beware the Silly Ones: For all her energy and fun-loving ways, Pinkie has a flair for using a whip, and can be reckless in battle.
• Beyond the Impossible: On July 14 Flash ends up reversing every Social Link he has established with the members of ZIT. All of these links were maxed, and it is stated In-Universe that these bonds cannot be broken. Flash got everyone so mad at him that he ended up reversing links that he shouldn't be able to reverse.
• Bifauxnen: Implied with Babs Seed since Apple Bloom mistakes her for being a cute guy.
• Big Bad: Initially, Eris seems to be this, but it turns out that she's The Dragon to Mephistopheles, real name Sunset Shimmer.
• Big Brother Instinct: Shining Armor is this for Twilight for a long time. Part of his S.Link is him growing out of this and realizing that she is old enough to not need him as much anymore and there are others who can protect her now like Flash.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • In the battle with Sagittarius, Pinkie, Twilight and Rainbow Dash are barely holding out until Flash arrives to turn the tide.
  • The LTE version of 1/10/2016 has Yu Narukami and Kotone Shiomi, Flash's fellow Wild Cards, show up to save the party in an act that is one part this and one part Big-Lipped Alligator Moment.
  • During the fight with the twisted Shadow Applejack and Shadow Apple Bloom, the Reaper, of all things, shows up to blow their heads off.
• Big Eater: Twilight Sparkle is a human garbage disposal, and also quite a slob when she eats. She finds this kind of embarrassing, but Flash thinks it's nothing, or even a little of a cute quirk.
• Big Sister Bully: Both of Sonata's big sisters, Adagio and Aria, were this to her. They constantly made fun of her and put her down, even if they all still cared about each other deep down. Sonata's Shadow reveals that there is a part of her that is actually glad her sisters are dead and her life is so much better now because of it.
• A Birthday, Not a Break: Everyone gets attacked by Shadows on their birthday.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Timid Fluttershy turns out be the villainous and cruel Eris. When she gets revealed, she drops the sheep act and shows her cruel side openly.
• Bland-Name Product: Usually when making a reference to a real-world TV show or movie.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: In 2/17 when Flash tells Twilight that he told Principal Celestia about Rainbow Dash's crush on her:
  Twilight: Well, I just hope Rainbow doesn't kill you in your sleep.
  Flash: Or kick me in the balls.
  Pinkie Pie: (pops out of nowhere) Or kill you with your own balls.
  Twilight: GAH! Pinkie!
  Flash: How would that even... You know... nevermind.
• Break the Badass: Flash is left completely broken and saddened by the end of July 14, due to his recent actions having made Twilight break up with him, all his friends rejecting him, and forced to leave the dorm and stay at a hotel with his parents. He considers his new life over and wonders if he should even stay in Canterlot anymore.
• Break the Haughty:
  • Early on, Flash calls Trixie an asshole due to her constantly bothering him and demanding to know his secret to making friends. This turns out to hurt her and she claims she acts boastful because she doesn't know how else to act around people.
  • Sunset Shimmer is humiliated when her plan to fake that she's pregnant backfires. Later, when she moves into the Applewood dorm she is eventually confronted by everyone for sleeping with Shining Armor and screwing with all of them despite claiming she is trying to be their friend. She surrenders her phone to prove herself and has all her blackmail deleted. The biggest one comes on Shining Armor's birthday though, when she learns that despite all her power she was simply being manipulated by the shadows the whole time, and as long as she's alive Zodiac will continue to exist.
• Break Them by Talking:
  • Anyone unprepared for the Zodiac world get a horrible shock when they find out the awful things being said about them.
  • Averted when Eris tries to invoke this trope, but Pinkie promptly awakens her Persona and forces Eris to retreat.
• Break Up Demand: Not long after Flash and Twilight officially start their relationship, Shining tells for Flash to break up with her, because he is still in his overprotective brother stage and doesn't want Flash to end up breaking Twilight's heart when he needs to leave. Flash refuses to do so, saying that doing so would just break her heart now and calls out Shining for trying to control his sister and thinking nobody is good enough for her simply because she is his sister. This puts him and Shining in conflict for a while.
• Breast Attack:
  • Flash manages to defend himself from Eris by grabbing onto her breast really hard to distract her.
  • Twilight Velvet does this to Sunset Shimmer while dragging her out of the room naked.
• Breather Episode:
  • Frequently, given the daily update status. There are often days where nothing significant happens.
  • December is mostly slice-of-life due to no one's birthday being in December.
• Brick Joke: After observing Cadence and Pinkie being both sex lovers, Flash wonders if it's something exclusive to girls with pink skin. Later, when Cadence claims her active sexual nature is due to her being pink, Flash gives a resounding "I Knew It!!".
• Broken Bird: Sonata Dusk, since her sisters were killed in a car crash, and said crash left the girl, who loves to sing, completely mute. In the LTE version, her S.Link is even called the Broken Bird.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: As with the Persona 3 and 4 games, Flash's history teacher, Mr. Turner, wears a Conquistador helmet to class.
• Burger Fool: Scootaloo has to wear a chicken costume for her father's fried chicken restaurant.
• But Now I Must Go: Flash will have to leave Canterlot in August when his parents return.
  • Averted after he speaks with his parents, they allow him to stay in Canterlot High.
• Butch Lesbian: Babs Seed, according to her mention in the Feb 11 2016 chapter. She looks so much like a boy that her own cousin mistakes her for one and asks her out, and is explicitly mentioned as gay.
• Calling the Old Man Out: On April 15 Flash tells his parents exactly what he thinks of their neglect.
• The Cameo: As mentioned above, Yu Narukami and Kotone Shiomi show up in the LTE version; also, Flash's Ultimate Persona of the Star Arcana is Teddie.
  • On 6/4, Rise Kujikawa is performing at a concert that Twilight and Flash attends.
• Cast from Lifespan: The first use of one's Persona can make someone sick. Flash gets bedridden the first time he uses his Persona and so does everyone else.
• Cat Girl: Rarity's Persona, Bastet, is basically an Egyptian catgirl version of her.
• A Chat with Satan: Like the Persona 4 shadows, the party has to face down representations of their worst aspects. However, they also have to fight the ones for all of Flash's maxed-out Social Links, not just their own.
• Chick Magnet: Flash, and it seems to be getting worse as he gains S.Links.
• Climax Boss: On 2/28, Flash finally gets Fluttershy alone and pulls her into Zodiac. She... Flips her shit... Afterward...
• Cloudcuckoolander: Pinkie Pie is more understandable than most, but often seems to live in her own unique world.
• Color-Coded Characters: What did you expect from an adaptation of My Little Pony?
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Personas have differently colored summoning auras depending on their nature: Blue is for basic ones still undergoing individual growth, red is for Reversed or otherwise wrong ones, and a shifting rainbow glow is for Rainbow Personas, the fully realized and most powerful type.
• Combination Attack: In a manner similar to Persona 2's Fusion Raids, teammates can combine their Personas' abilities to create entirely new skills and spells. So far Flash and Twilight have Cavalry Charge (combined Strike +Fire with Pierce+ Elec on a single target), Flash and Pinkie have Sexy Refreshment (physical healing and spirit restoration on all teammates), and Flash and Rarity have Fall of the Mighty (Fire+Ice with Debilitate+Fear on all enemies).
  • Also, All-Out Attacks from later games are incorporated, although not called out as such.
  • In February 8 2016, Persona combination attacks, similar to those used in Persona 3 appear for the first time. Flash Sentry can use Kuma and Ursa Major to unleash Cosmic Bearrage, where Kuma rides Ursa Major through the ranks of the enemy, dropping huge ice blocks on them as it lashes out.
• Conflict Ball: Twilight arguing with Flash about him going to Octavia's pool party, which eventually results in Flash cheating on her with Trixie, and the two of them breaking up.
• Contrived Coincidence: Golden Oaks Dorm burns down before Flash arrives so he has to stay in the female-only Applewood Dorm due to a lack of options.
• Crappy Holidays: Pinkie's Thanksgiving with her folks mostly consisted of her parents arguing and Slut-Shaming her and later disowning her.
• Crazy-Prepared: Sunset Shimmer has THREE backup servers for Canterbook if Flash and the ZIT take the main one down. Even worse, all three are primed to spam all Canterbook users' inboxes with all the blackmail she has collected in the past year.
• Crippling the Competition: Two of Rainbow Dash's teammates and fellow candidates for captain of the soccer team jump her and injure her leg, partly as revenge, and partly to take her out of the running.
• Critical Hit: Just like in the games, Personas have weaknesses and strengths. Getting hit by your weakness can be VERY BAD in Zodiac.
• Cosplay: The Halloween episode gives us plenty:
  • Flash as Tuxedo Mask.
  • Twilight as Sailor Moon.
  • Applejack as Edward Elric.
  • Rainbow Dash as Daring Do.
  • Shining Armor as Aladdin.
  • Cadance as Princess Jasmine.
  • Sunset Shimmer as Blackfire.
  • Vinyl Scratch as Guy-Manuel from Daft Punk.
  • Lyra as Korra.
  • Sweetie Drops as Asami.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The first fight with Eris goes this way until Pinkie awakens her Persona.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • Luna's fall in show canon is translated into attempted homicide followed by jail time.
  • Rainbow Dash's mother Firefly refused to marry her father, had to be talked out of an abortion, and immediately abandoned her boyfriend and newborn baby the second she could walk after giving birth. Rainbow was raised by her father and has never met her.
  • Pinkie Pie does not get along with her family (except Maud). This culminates in December, when her father and mother disown her.
  • Flash's parents are never around, provide for him simply by wiring him money, and frequently forget things like him joining the tennis club, or going to his girlfriend's home for Thanksgiving, despite him informing them repeatedly.
  • Applejack's mother died before the story began, and her father is fading fast.
  • As seen in the second 2/6 chapter, Eris / Fluttershy apparently has a secret that Mephistopheles has been using to blackmail her into antagonizing Flash and friends. Fluttershy crippled a teacher named Amethyst Star and Sunset threatened her with prison time if she didn't do everything she asked.
• A Day in the Limelight: By their nature, chapters that allow S.Links to rank up are this. But more specifically, Birthday Chapters are this for each resident of Applewood Dorm, as they typically end up saving the day by awakening to their Persona.
• Death by Origin Story: Adagio and Aria died in the accident that left Sonata unable to speak.
• Death Is Cheap: Rarity's Persona abilities is resurrection and she will resurrect fallen allies. Pinkie also has revival capabilities, as does Flash through Kuma and Serenity.
• Dead Guy Junior: Sonata says that once she graduates she wants to become a mom and have two baby girls so she can name them after her sisters Adagio and Aria.
• Demonic Invaders: The Shadows.
• Didn't Think This Through: Over Spring Break Twilight gives Flash permission to sleep with anyone for the week, to clear the air between him and the other girls and let the sex out of his system. This seems to work at first, but months later in July Twilight confronts Flash about his pervert nature and spending so much time with girls besides her, pointing out that he didn't argue or resist the idea of having sex with the rest of the dorm. Twilight's idea for Flash to get things out of his system wasn't healthy for their relationship in the long run, something Fluttershy and Cadance point out to her.
• Disabled in the Adaptation: Fan character Button Mash, usually portrayed as of average intelligence, is apparently mentally undeveloped to the point of being unable to differentiate video games from reality and having No Social Skills for what is appropriate in public.
• Disney Death: In the fight with Capricorn, it kills Rainbow and Pinkie. Fortunately, Eris gave Rarity the push she needs to awaken her Persona, Bastet, and revive them.
  • In the 2/28 battle against Fluttershy, she kills Pinkie and Rarity. It's up to Flash to revive Pinkie so she can heal Rarity. Later in the fight, Flash gets so pissed at her for antagonizing them for no reason that he gives Fluttershy herself a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that kills her! Rarity revives her after she falls.
  • Flash and Twilight are killed during the battle with Pisces. They got better.
  • Flash has another when they are fighting Trixie's Shadow. He got better shortly afterwards.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Flash gets called out a few times for staring at the girls he lives with. It doesn't help that several of them have the habit of not wearing much around the dorm, or not bothering to dress at all.
• Don't Tell Mama: Flash tells Silver Spoon's father, Silver Watch of how Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara bully Apple Bloom and tells him that Flash will no longer do business with him as a result. Silver Watch is horrified and straightens his daughter out.
• Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Discussed. Flash refuses to press rape charges against Sunset because doing so is social suicide and will make him a laughing stock. Rainbow Dash even states that guys getting raped by girls are an embarrassment, pouring salt into the wound. When Sunset starts a rumor about Flash getting her pregnant, the blame is all on him despite Flash being her victim.
• The Dreaded: Even Sunset fears the Reaper.
• Dream-Crushing Handicap:
  • Sonata loved singing and had a beautiful voice so it's absolutely heartbreaking that she is no longer physically capable of speaking due to the accident.
  • Subverted with Vinyl; she has voice activated tech in her DJ to get around her failing eyesight, although she is disappointed that she can no longer drive her Cool Car.
• Drunk Driver: Adagio was driving drunk on Halloween night, resulting in getting herself, Aria, and the driver of another car killed, and permanently damaging Sonata's throat.
• Duel Boss: Flash ends up facing his own Shadow one-on-one.
• Dysfunction Junction:
  • Social Links are present just like in the games, complete with a host of tarot-based neuroses.
  • EVERYONE at the Dorm seems to have some kind of family issues going on.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After all that she's been through and all she's done not just to ZIT, but to Canterlot High as a whole, Fluttershy has her soul hacked by Sunset Shimmer and she's effectively dead. However, she gathers the willpower to break through it and help defeat Aries, gaining her true Persona Echo, and she is making amends with ZIT and becoming a true friend.
• Easily Forgiven: Deconstructed. Everyone in the Applewood dorm is willing to forgive their friends for mistakes they have made and for hurting each other through their mistakes. One of the biggest examples of this is everyone forgiving Fluttershy for betraying them when she was Eris, and working with her to become friends for real. However, this is only if the person who hurt them is willing to admit they were wrong and feels sorry for what they have done. When Sunset moves into the dorm she is confused why nobody is forgiving her for what she did to everyone when they did the same for Fluttershy, until Flash explains it is because she isn't really sorry for what she did and she's still screwing with them. Sunset finally starts to be forgiven after she has Fluttershy erase all her blackmail material on everyone and has two emotional breakdowns in front of the group.
• Eldritch Abomination:
  • The Hunter Zodiac Shadows, with appearances resembling their patron constellations, but twisted and nightmarish.
  • The Reversed Persona Eris, who shares her name with her owner. Even her summoning aura is blood-red, as opposed to the crystalline blue of other Personas.
  • It is very heavily implied that Sunset Shimmer's Persona, Mephistopheles, is this. The only person to have seen it, Fluttershy, describes it as a "monster" and a "nightmare" and is terrified at the prospect of facing it. Even its summoning — or what little of it Flash saw before Cadance whisked his party out of Zodiac — was completely unlike any other Persona's.
  • The Reaper, an embodiment of Death itself, and which stalks Zodiac relentlessly while hunting anyone who trespasses into it. Fluttershy is wary of it; even Sunset Shimmer was only able to fight it to a standstill, and it is the only thing she's afraid of in Zodiac.
• Eldritch Location: Zodiac, a dark black and red version of the real world. Negative feelings and interactions spread across social media fester as visible, floating text in this reality, which also allows Shadows a gateway into the world. Those who are targeted by the Zodiac Shadows are forcibly pulled into it on their birthday; those who have survived and awakened their Persona and those who have the app on their phone needed to access it can enter it at will — the downside is, if one person activates the app, everyone else who has it is automatically pulled into Zodiac regardless of where they are.
• Enemy Scan: One of the powers that Cadence's Persona possesses.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • While she still hates his guts, Fluttershy says that not even Flash should have rumors of being the father of a "pregnant" Sunset's child. Of course, this being Sunset Shimmer, said child doesn't even exist...
  • Silver Spoon may have bullied Apple Bloom but even she's horrified when Diamond Tiara mocks Apple Bloom for having a parent dying of leukemia and wishing that Apple Bloom would also die from it.
  • Sunset Shimmer says even she hates Suri Polomare for her bitchy attitude and trying to use sex to get whatever she wants, like trying to get into Crystal Prep. Sunset only used intimidation, coercion, extortion, and violence to get what she wants and only used sex to annoy people, but never to get something she wanted.
• Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting: Despite having no formal training, Flash is pretty good with an ax, and Pinkie is very skilled with a whip.
  • Averted somewhat with Twilight, who uses a rapier due to having taken fencing classes when she was younger.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Cancer drives it home for Sunset that Zodiac was never really under her control, and it has made her a central part of its plan.
• Evil Is Petty: Sunset Shimmer from what is seen so far just wants to get a reaction out of people. After she moves into the dorm, she herself admits that raping Flash trying to get pregnant just to piss off Twilight was "petty and stupid" but that doesn't stop her from trying to get reactions from everyone around her.
• Evil Knockoff: During the Taurus battle, Mephistopheles creates a Nemesis Prime Shadow based on Flash's Optimus Prime Persona. It's later revealed that she can create Shadows that oppose each and every Persona that Flash has ever used. However, they also share the same weaknesses as the original Personas, which Flash is quick to point out.
• Extreme Doormat: Initially, Coco Pommel is constantly being pushed around and belittled by Suri.
• Family of Choice: After Twilight's family find out about Flash's parents' neglect and Pinkie's parents' emotional abuse, they emotionally adopt Flash and Pinkie into their family.
• Family Theme Naming: Chrysalis' children are all named after insects or insect terms.
• Fast-Forward Mechanic: The story will occasionally progress several days if there is nothing worth speaking about or if Flash is unconscious or sick.
• First Love: Flash and Twilight.
• Flying Seafood Special: Pisces is a pair of floating barracudas.
• Food Porn: Frequently, usually involving parties. Try reading the description of the food for Thanksgiving and see if you're not hungry afterwards.
• For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: Pinkie goes to a Halloween party dressed (and painted) as her own Persona.
• Forceful Kiss:
  • After Flash comes up with a plan so Pinkie can stay at CHS after her parents disown her she kisses him. Twilight is shown to not be happy about this, then Pinkie kisses her too. Twilight hyperventilates afterwards.
  • Sunset Shimmer gives one to Flash on 2/9 just to make Twilight mad.
• Foreshadowing: The first Eris battle, if you're observant, gives you hints to her identity.
• Freudian Excuse: Fluttershy says that Canterlot High made her the bitch that she is now. The Zodiac Investigation Team think she's full of shit.
• Friends with Benefits: Although Flash is in a steady relationship with Twilight, Pinkie acts as this for both of them. Flash also occasionally sleeps with other members of the dorm, with Twilight's permission beforehand.
• Fun with Acronyms: Zodiac Investigation Team, anyone?
• Genre Savvy:
  • Flash remarks that he's read enough comics to worry about being labeled a pervert for things beyond his control.
  • Later on Pinkie wonders if the shadows they fight are getting strong because the team is leveling up. She is promptly informed that this isn't a video game.
  • Sonata Dusk has played a lot of RPGs and is well aware of the different strategies, powers, and bosses in them. After joining ZIT she refers to the Zodiac Hunters as "bosses" and references strategies several times during their fights.
• Giant Foot of Stomping: Faced with a seemingly unwinnable battle against corrupt versions of all his Personas at once, Flash is left with no recourse but to summon Gojira. Big G makes his entrance by planting his foot, "the largest thing Flash has ever seen", in the battlefield.
• Giant Mook: The Hunter Zodiac Shadows, who don't seem to have any more personality or purpose than the regular type, aside from a laser-focused drive to kill their intended target.
• Glamorous Single Mother: Chrysalis was a CEO for a multi-billion dollar company with many children whose fathers she did not marry. Downplayed in that she lost her position and is being booted out of the company.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Pinkie is revealed to be upset that Twilight got to Flash first during her Birthday episode.
  • Trixie meanwhile is jealous of how easy it is for Flash to make friends.
  • Fluttershy says that she was jealous of how close Flash was to his friends, and had always wanted that same closeness.
• Groin Attack:
  • Eris uses one of these against Flash on Rainbow's birthday.
  • Fluttershy gets him again after her birthday party, albeit in a much less villainous way.
• Half the Man He Used to Be: During the battle with Shadow Trixie, she cuts Flash in half by throwing a card at him. The actual scene is skipped to Flash being brought back to life, but Rainbow describes it to him.
• Hard Light: The wings of Rainbow Dash's Persona, Nike, are hard light constructs.
• The Heartless: The Shadows, once again the coalesced negativity and self destructive tendencies of humanity given physical form. The greater Hunter Shadows specifically embody all the social hatred and bullying aimed at one specific person.
• Heel–Face Turn:
  • Eris/Fluttershy goes through one in the month of February. She solidifies it on March 29, and becomes much friendlier with the team... Although not without a mischievous streak.
  • Silver Spoon realized how terrible a person Diamond Tiara is after her father makes her stop being friends with her and resolves to be a better person.
• Heel Realization:
  • Silver Spoon realizes that she's no better than Diamond Tiara since she never stood up to her and always went along with her bullying despite her better judgement.
  • Fluttershy realizes just how bad she was acting to everyone else after Cadance says she's worse than Sunset Shimmer. It takes her mind being shattered and sent to the Velvet Room for her to finally come to her senses.
• Heroic Bastard: Heroic might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it is eventually revealed that Coco Pommel, the captain of the CHS tennis team, is illegitimate, and Suri leaked it to the press.
• Heroic RRoD: There's a reason a Persona user isn't meant to summon Personas beyond their level, nor deplete their stamina and spirit by summoning many of them in succession — it can result in a literal schizophrenic episode that will, at least, break your mind for a day or two.
• Heroic Second Wind: Thanks to Pinkie using Sexy Refreshment, the team is able to recover and take down Sagittarius.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: Eris. After Twilight's Persona awakening, Eris has taken a particular interest in preventing the Applewood residents from escaping their fates (and yet, only knocked Cadance unconscious without killing her), but her motives for doing so are unknown to all. We eventually learn Mephistopheles/Sunset Shimmer has been blackmailing her into aiding her attacks on other students, either for personal gain or For the Evulz.
• Hidden Depths: Pretty much anyone with a Social Link.
  • The bombastic Trixie only acts that way because she wanted to give off a confident persona to attract friends. Once she learns to tone it down she is actually very sweet.
  • Rarity is a pretty good shot with a gun. She even says the trope name when this comes out.
  • The bubbly Sonata is mourning over the death of her sisters and the loss of her voice.
  • Fluttershy is an absolute wizard with computers and hacking.
• High School: The story's main setting.
• Holding Hands: Flash and Twilight.
• Hot-Blooded: Flash is starting to heat up a lot when in battle. Or if he feels Twilight is threatened...
• Hyperactive Metabolism: Twilight, oddly enough, eats more than any other member of the dorm, despite being totally slender. Even her family make note on it.
• Hypocrite: Flash gets into an argument with Twilight about going to a pool party where the only other guests were girls, without telling her. He eventually tells her "he's not Cadance" knowing it will hurt her. Then the very next day he does exactly what Cadance used to do by having sex with Trixie to take out his anger and get back at Twilight for not trusting him. Both Sunset and Pinkie call him out on it.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Sunset Shimmer claims that after being feared and treated cruelly by everyone for so long, and after listening to everything that Flash and his friends has been through, she wants to have that herself and has been trying to be their friend, believing they are the only ones who could forgive everything she has done, like they did with Fluttershy.
• The "I Love You" Stigma: Averted. Flash has no issue saying he loves Twilight, and he first says it in a casual conversation with the dorm over dinner. Twilight takes a little longer to say it herself, but ultimately has no issue with it either.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: The mysterious hacker embarrasses Rainbow Dash by sending a fake message addressed from her on Canterbook to Celestia asking her to be her date to the Valentine's Dance. Shortly afterwards Flash realizes that nobody outside of the dorm knows Rainbow has a crush on Celestia, so somebody is a rat. This is the last piece of evidence Flash needs to conclude that Fluttershy is Eris.
• If It's You, It's Okay:
  • Twilight eventually accepts that Pinkie is as much in love with her as with Flash. After the Star S.Link is completed, she reciprocates.
  • Rainbow Dash, despite hating rumors that she's gay, grows a huge crush on Principal Celestia.
• Impossibly Awesome Magic Trick: Quite of few of the ones performed by Trixie at Pinkie's birthday party.
• It Can Think: Cancer can, and even goes on a decently sized but still cryptic Motive Rant.
• It Won't Turn Off: The Zodiac app is downloaded automatically with no control from the user and sends them to targets of the Zodiac Shadows.
• Jerkass:
  • Sunset Shimmer, who seems to be out to destroy Twilight simply because she can't beat her for Valedictorian.
  • Flash notes in one fight that Fluttershy was being mean to them for no reason at all. Even when she starts helping them in very roundabout ways, she's still very caustic.
• Kaiju: A few Personas qualify: the Ultimate Personas for Chariot and Tower are Gamera (80m length) and Gojira (168m), while Sonata's Rainbow Persona, Leviathan, consists of a Persona sized mermaid and a colossal sea serpent a hundred meters long.
• Kid Hero: Everyone in the Investigation Team other than Cadance so far.
• Kill It with Fire:
  • Capricorn kills Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash with its opening salvo of Maragidyne. They get better.
  • In late February, an enraged Flash kills Eris with Merlin's Agidyne. She gets better.
  • After the Gemini battle, Flash unleashes Gojira against Sunset Shimmer and her army of Shadows. Gojira's Atomic Breath annihilates every last Shadow, and forces Sunset to summon her own Persona.
• Killed Off for Real: Snips on 2/7, his birthday. He is officially pronounced dead by Principal Celestia on 2/13.
  • A digital version of Sunset destroys Eris on Fluttershy's birthday.
• Kissing Cousins: According to the Thursday 11 2016 chapter, Apple Bloom accidentally asked out her Butch Lesbian cousin Babs Seed, and it's implied that Babs agreed to go to the dance with her.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Sunset spends almost an entire year trying to kill ZIT. This includes humiliating them at CHS and trying to breakup Flash and Twilight. But when none of her attempts work and they just keep getting closer, she finally just gives up after they kill Gemini and beat her personally. She decides it is not worth the effort to deal with them anymore and that they've more or less won already since once they deal with the last of the Hunters Zodiac will vanish, so she decides she just wants to know how they beat her instead of trying to beat them herself.
• Kryptonite Factor: Although all Persona users can be afflicted with the Panic status (which seals away their ability to summon), Flash is particularly vulnerable to it, a fact that has not escaped his enemies. Even worse, his main Persona, Chiron, is weak to Wind. Enemy Persona user Eris uses Wind as her main element... And has Tentarafoo, a Panic inducing spell.
• Large Ham: The Great and Powerful TRRRRRRIXIE!
• Leg Focus: Celestia's legs have previously earned her the nickname "Longlegstia". And she WILL give you double detention for using it.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: After the event with Cadance and Flash.
• Level-Up at Intimacy 5: The Social Link system from the games is present in the story.
• Like Brother and Sister: Flash sees Sonata as a cute little sister. He has helped her since she moved into the dorm and claims he wants to protect her like family. Though he does have sex with her after she jumps him on Spring Break and reveals she has a crush on him, but they resume their normal friendship immediately afterwards.
• Limited Wardrobe: Averted; while the movies that provide the basis have the characters in the same outfits all the time, the story mentions quite a few changes of wardrobe for the cast. Flash does have a preference for the jacket he received as a birthday gift from Twilight, however, even showing up as part of his Persona's appearance.
• Living with the Villain: Two examples are used:
  • It is discovered that Fluttershy is the dark persona user Eris, and they continue living with her in the dorm before she officially has her Heel–Face Turn and joins them.
  • Sunset Shimmer moves into the dorm after having tried to kill Flash and his friends all year. She however claims that she has given up and just wants to know how the group managed to beat her despite her efforts. Everyone however tries to keep their distance from her and have little to do with her, in case she really is up to something.
• The Load: Flash, normally The Ace of ZIT and The Leader in battles, is turned into this during the battles with Shadow Rainbow and Shadow Cadance due to his guilt over sleeping with Trixie behind Twilight's back locking all his most powerful Personas and forcing the others to fight without his help.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Cadance cannot inform Shining Armor about Zodiac because he would never believe it, he would not be able to do anything about it if he did, and she can't prove it — only Persona users can even see the Zodiac app. This causes problems in their relationship later.
  • Enforced: Flash, Twilight, and Cadance decide to tell Shining about it, but are blackmailed into not doing so by Mephistopheles, who threatens to release a video of Flash and Cadance's one night stand if they do. Ultimately while they don't tell Shining about their Personas, they do tell him that something major is going on and they can't tell him due to blackmail.
  • Later on, it appears that by keeping Applejack out of the loop with what ZIT was investigating, Flash may have taken much longer than necessary to uncover Fluttershy as Eris, since AJ knew Fluttershy and Sunset had meetings together. This means that by locking her out of one loop, he locked himself out of another!
• Lonely Rich Kid: Until he came to Canterlot, Flash had no real friends.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Pinkie Pie and Cadance are both obsessed with sex, with Pinkie Pie making several inappropriate comments involving sex and Cadance having a long history of sleeping with multiple guys, even while she was engaged to Shining Armor and while she is still married to him. Flash and Twilight also slowly becomes this as they get more intimate in their relationship. These are all justified as it is eventually revealed that Zodiac has been subtly influencing the minds of ZIT, making them more lustful than just regular puberty should.
• Love at First Sight:
  • Flash claims he fell in love with Twilight the moment he laid eyes on her. It took longer for Twilight, but she eventually fell in love with Flash just the same.
  • Played for laughs with Sonata. She falls in love with one of Flash's personas, Sephiroth, as soon as she sees him the first time and becomes excited every time Flash uses him later.
• Love Hotels: Pinkie suggests that Flash could visit one with her.
• Loves My Alter Ego: Zigzagged and played for laughs with Sonata. She eventually falls in love with Sephiroth, one of Flash's personas, as soon as she sees him. Though she knows that he is just a persona that Flash uses she still mentions at one point how she wants to have sex with him, and turns down a suggestion from Pinkie that she do it with Flash, who she already has a crush on, while he wears a wig to look like him, because she claims it "wouldn't be the same".
• Magic from Technology: Access to Personas, the Velvet Room, and the shadow world Zodiac can all be controlled by Smartphone Apps.
• Mama Bear: Twilight's mother, Twilight Velvet, and Celestia both have shades of this. Twilight Velvet is livid after overhearing a phone call to Flash Sentry on Thanksgiving that reveals how utterly disinterested his parents seem to be in him. After Pinkie Pie is disowned by her parents and doesn't have the money to stay enrolled in Canterlot High, Flash immediately thinks to ask if Twilight Velvet will go halves with him in paying for Pinkie's continued tuition, and he's right; she immediately accepts and is horrified at finding out just why it has come to this.
• The Man Behind the Man: Twice. First, Eris/Fluttershy is the initial antagonistic Persona user, but it quickly transpires that she's taking orders from Mephistopheles/Sunset Shimmer. After the latter has a questionably-genuine Heel–Face Turn, it is revealed that she was never in control of Zodiac in the first place; it has been stringing her along the entire time for its own mysterious purposes.
• Marathon Boss: It's stated Pisces took 15 minutes to kill... After its barrier was disabled.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!":
  • The Investigation Team is horrified when they find of plans to add Canterlot Junior High to Canterbook.
  • During the battle with Gemini, this is Flash's team's reaction to Sunset Shimmer summoning an army of Shadows based on all of Flash's Personas at once.
• Massively Numbered Siblings: Chrysalis has many children.
• Missing Mom: Rainbow Dash's left her with her father after she was born and hasn't been seen since.
• Mistaken for Cheating: Sunset forces a kiss on Flash in the hallway at CHS and by the end of the day everyone, even Twilight and the rest of Flash's friends, think he's cheating on Twilight with Sunset due to pictures of the kiss on Canterbook. Luckily, it is easy for Flash to convince Twilight and the others what really happened after sitting down and talking to them.
• Mook Maker: Shadow Chrysalis and Shadow Sonata can endlessly spawn or regenerate the Changelings and Sirens accompanying them, respectively.
• Morality Pet: Sonata slowly become one for Fluttershy, since Fluttershy mentions that she likes Sonata. Sonata convinces Fluttershy to attend a meeting with ZIT the day after her birthday and later when Fluttershy says nobody in the dorm even trusts her, Sonata claims she trusts her.
• More Friends, More Benefits: The Social Links, as per the games.
• Mouth To Mouth Force Feeding: In the LTE version of 6/12, while Flash and Fluttershy are having sex, Fluttershy gives him a blowjob until Flash unloads his cum in her mouth. Shortly after this, Fluttershy pulls Flash into a deep kiss, only to immediately spit all the cum she kept in her mouth into his. Flash reflexively tries to spit it out, only for Fluttershy to forcibly keep their lips locked and force Flash to swallow it.
• Mundane Made Awesome: Need to be immune to physical damage so you can win a fight? There's an App for that.
• Mundane Utility: Once, to get around Zodiac quicker, Flash used one of his Personas as a transport. Fittingly, it was Optimus Prime's truck form.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Fluttershy after her Heel Realization above.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: One of many sources of tension between Flash and Shining Armor.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Several to Friendship is Magic:
    • Pinkie's family are only interested in rocks.
    • Twilight is a messy eater and a glutton, especially when it comes to fast food.
    • Golden Oaks burned down.
    • Pinkie Pie's Persona, Euphrosyne, sports the colors of her spiritual predecessor, Surprise.
    • Athena, Twilight's Persona, wears a winged helmet topped with a unicorn. She also has an owl as a familiar.
    • Flash's Ultimate Persona of the Moon Arcana (Trixie's S.Link) is Ursa Major.
    • Combine Ultimate / Ascended Personas with Season 4's "Rainbow Power" to get Rainbow Personas, permanent power-ups which the girls attain when Flash maxes out their individual S.Link, and whose visual designs reference the Super Mode forms of their pony versions.
  • Several to the Persona series:
    • The history teacher at Canterlot High also wears a historical headpiece in every class, as did the history teachers at Gekkoukan High School and Yasogami High School.
    • The Ultimate Persona for the Star S.Link? Teddie, by his Japanese name of Kuma. Making things more fitting, he was the Star S.Link in his own game.
    • The Persona 3 and Persona 4 Wild Cards show up to bail out the team in the LTE version of the story at one point.
    • Margaret cameos in one chapter to explain the shadow trials. She also briefly mentions her sister Elizabeth and plays poker with Zecora on occasion.
  • Flash's Ultimate Personas typically get their signature abilities as skills. And among them, upgrading them via the Shadow Trials nets further references to their respective franchises:
    • Amaterasu (Justice) comes with the skill Victory Cry, to reference her signature post-boss howls. After she's upgraded from the Shadow Celestia battle, Victory Cry is replaced with "Shiranui", which dumps all buffs on the party at once for as long as the Persona is equipped.
    • Gojira (Tower) starts out with Atomic Breath, but defeating Shadow Chrysalis replaces it with Spiral Death Ray.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: Invoked. Persona awakenings, manifestations of a Zodiac victim's determination and survival instinct in the face of certain death. Also, several of Flash's early alternate Personas awakened in similar circumstances, until Flash took the initiative to upgrade them personally at the Velvet Room. The author has even stated in one of the author notes that this approach made more sense than explicitly using the "capture and fusion" methodology of the inspiring game.
• Never My Fault: Several characters have blamed their problems or actions they have done on others, ignoring that they themselves have still done bad deeds and are not completely blameless for their own misfortunes. Others usually call them out on their attitude.
  • Fluttershy was bullied when she first came to CHS, so she used her knowledge of computers to become a cyber-bully and ruin anyone who ever messed with her, and this was before she discovered Zodiac. After her identity as Eris is discovered by ZIT she lists all the bad things that have happened to her, including Sunset's blackmail on her, Rainbow rape checking her, and Flash grabbing her breast, ignoring that she tried to kill them multiple times even though they have done nothing but try to be her friends.
  • Sunset has this attitude when she moves into the dorm. She expects everyone to just forgive her right away when she doesn't want to fight them anymore, but she continues to mess with them just to get reactions from them. She is finally called out on this when Twilight and Flash confront her for sleeping with Shining Armor.
  • Twilight breaks up with Flash after finding out he had sex with Trixie because she feels she can no longer trust him and spends the next couple of days depressed in her room. While what Flash did was wrong, he had already shown countless times that he loved Twilight and was faithful to her, yet she got on his case for only having female friends and his pervert nature. This lack of trust from Twilight is what caused Flash to cheat on her to get back at her. Pinkie and Sonata call her out on her attitude and point out she hurt Flash just as much as he hurt her.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Flash has a bad tendency to not use the Velvet Room as much as he can. It gets to the point that Zecora actually leaves the Velvet Room and confronts him about it on the January 10 2016 trip to Zodiac, in front of the rest of the team. When he later reveals his Merlin Persona, and that he's had him since before Rarity's party but hadn't thought of using him, he gets a minor chewing out from Rarity as well.
  • Fluttershy tries to avoid this by telling the team they need to actually make plans instead of relying on their Leeroy Jenkins style of dealing with the shadows and her.
  • If it wasn't for Rainbow Dash ignoring Fluttershy's protests and giving her an unnecessary rape check, Eris wouldn't have been so vicious.
  • Flash refuses to press rape charges against Sunset Shimmer and have her expelled because it would humiliate him and make him a social outcast. This comes back to bite him hard when it is revealed shortly afterwards that Sunset Shimmer is Mephistopheles and Flash not pressing charges allowed her to continue her plans against ZIT, one of them being a plan to humiliate Flash with a fake story that he forced himself on her and got her pregnant (albeit an unsuccessful attempt).
  • The biggest example yet was after Flash and Twilight got into an argument with each other. The day after their argument, Flash had sex with Trixie to let out his anger and get back at Twilight for being mad at him for no reason. He feels guilty about it immediately afterward and it affects his strength in the Shadow battles they have later. Eventually he confesses to Twilight what he did and not only does she break up with him, the other members of ZIT angrily outcast him, Cadance kicks him out of the dorm, and all of his ZIT related Social Links are either reversed or broken. Igor himself even notes how no guest to the Velvet Room has screwed up as hard as Flash has.
• Noodle Incident: Flash's dad mentions he was involved with another woman before meeting his wife. Something happened and the woman only recently regained her ability to walk.
• No-Sell:
  • While Flash has the Persona Arahabaki equipped, he's effectively immune to all physical damage. Even Eris' attempt to trip him with her staff just made the staff bounce off his leg. Magical damage? Not so much.
  • By the same token, Eris doesn't need to summon her Persona to defend herself from Athena's Zio; her body can absorb lightning just as well.
• No Sympathy:
  • No one gives Fluttershy any pity over her backstory of being blackmailed into becoming Sunset Shimmer's lackey when she attempted to kill them several times, got Pinkie disowned by her parents, planted cameras in their dorm, gave an arson threat, humiliated Rainbow Dash, and got Flash raped. So it's pretty understandable why they think her Freudian Excuse is bullshit.
  • In late June, when Sunset Shimmer attempts to appeal to the group's sympathy, they're all instantly distrustful and think she's trying to trick them into lowering their defenses.
  • In July, everyone is against Flash for cheating on Twilight with Trixie just because they had one argument. Flash was mad at Twilight for not trusting him and being upset at him for no reason, and regretted his actions immediately afterwards, but Twilight still breaks up with him when he comes clean, the rest of the group just glares at him before walking out, and he's kicked out of the dorm by Cadance. Downplayed slightly as he slowly repairs his bonds with them after talking with each of them.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: After dealing with Shadows and Eris for months, Flash and Twilight think Sunset Shimmer is nothing but a pathetic jealous bully that they can handle by ignoring. This is quickly proven wrong when Sunset breaks into the dorm and rapes Flash while he's sleeping. Later, it is revealed that she is Mephistopheles, the one responsible for everything that has happened so far.
• Oh, Crap!: Cadance's reaction when the Investigation Team encounters Death while in Zodiac.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Rainbow Dash is incredibly tactless, often saying hurtful things without thinking. Flash jokes that her toes must taste like blueberries for her to enjoy putting her foot in her mouth so much. This lands her in hot water many times: Her attempted apology kills her relationship with Fluttershy when she unintentionally makes clear that she doesn't regret what she did to Fluttershy. She earns Flash and Twilight's ire when she indirectly mocks Flash for being raped.
• The One Guy:
  • Flash is this in the Zodiac Investigation Team, which otherwise consists of 8 girls.
  • Flash's Social Links are overwhelmingly female; his only male links are Shining Armor (Emperor), Juan (Devil), and his father (World, shared with his mother).
• One-Steve Limit: Averted; Twilight shares her name with her mother. Cadance just calls the older Twilight "Vel".
• Ordinary High-School Student: Most of the cast.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Zecora only stops rhyming when something needs a clear explanation or when things get really bad. It's also Played for Laughs with her at one point — she flies into a profane rage after losing all of her money to Margaret in a game of poker.
• Our Centaurs Are Different: Flash's initial Persona, Chiron, is a centaur with bladed wings, a mechanical horse half, and the head of a My Little Pony-style pony resembling the in-show depiction of the Pegasus Flash Sentry.
• Parental Neglect: Flash is emotionally neglected by his parents. Pinkie is explicitly ostracized and eventually disowned by hers.
• Polyamory: Pinkie begins hinting that she would be interested in this with Flash and Twilight, once she knows she can't bring herself to steal Flash. Come January in the story arc, Flash is apparently in one of these with Twilight and Pinkie Pie.
• Post-Rape Taunt: After Sunset Shimmer rapes Flash while he's sleeping, with him only waking up once she's done, she whispers in his ear "You were wonderful," before making her escape.
• Post-Victory Collapse: Fluttershy manages just a small laugh before she falls unconscious after the battle against Aries.
• The Power of Friendship: The Social Link system.
• Power Trio: Flash, Twilight, and Pinkie. At least until Dash joined.
• Precision F-Strike: Given the amount of swearing in this story, it normally wouldn't warrant mention, but it's bad when Twilight, who probably swears the least out of the central cast, calls Flash's being raped by Sunset "pretty fucking important!"
• Pregnant Badass:
  • Cadence continues to go into Zodiac even after becoming pregnant with Flurry Heart.
  • Downplayed when Granny Smith claims that when she was pregnant with her child, she only bothered to stop working for the 5 hours it took to give birth.
• Private Tutor: Twilight helps get Flash caught up while he is in the hospital after his Persona awakening knocked him out for 3 days.
• Prolonged Prologue: It takes several chapters for the events to really get rolling.
• Psychological Torment Zone: Zodiac.
• Pun: One of the combination Persona attacks involving two bears is called "Cosmic Bearrage". Considering it involves the max Star Link Persona, who is Teddie, this really isn't a surprise.
• Rainbow Speak: Important terms and concepts are highlighted with different colors, much as in an the actual Persona games.
• Really Gets Around: Cadance has been known to sleep with many people, even when she was dating Shining Armor that didn't stop her from cheating on him, and she slept with three other guys when she was engaged to him and even when married to him. To a much lesser extent, Flash, who despite having a girlfriend and a friend with benefits has slept with almost every girl in the dorm. However, this was mostly to get rid of awkward sexual tension between him and the others and he is given permission to do so beforehand by Twilight, just as long as he remembers who he belongs to.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • Flash gives one to Sunset Shimmer when he and Celestia confront her over her lying about being pregnant.
  • Twilight gives one, complete with a Megaton Punch, to Fluttershy on her birthday before Aries is fought.
• Reasonable Authority Figure:
  • Celestia and Luna both try to be this, though they're neither especially perceptive nor above manipulations of their own. On the other hand, they've expelled three minor villains so far for the sake of safety and justice.
  • Celestia is willing to bend the rules to help Pinkie stay enrolled, and sheepishly confesses that her visit to Pinkie's parents ended up with her screaming at them, slapping Pinkie's dad across the face, and spitefully taunting Pinkie's mother about how Pinkie has much better human beings to look after her than them.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: The summoning aura of the Reversed Persona Eris is blood red, and its body is mostly covered in black leather. To boot, Fluttershy hints at the fact that she's Eris on Halloween and at the Valentine's dance by dressing in black or otherwise very dark clothes, and wearing dark eye shadow and blood-red lipstick. On Halloween, she even wears red fake fingernails.
• Red Herring: Eris insists Sunset Shimmer is this, and that the two of them are different people.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: While the team is correct that Sunset Shimmer is involved in Zodiac and the mastermind behind the bulk of its activities, they initially decided that based more on their personal dislike of Sunset than any hard proof.
• Rejected Apology: Fluttershy rejects Rainbow's apology for the rape check incident after Rainbow makes a few tactless comments that make her seem unapologetic. They make up for real on Fluttershy's birthday, after Shy's Heel–Face Turn.
• Relationship Sabotage:
  • Pinkie tearfully confessed on her birthday that she was jealous of Flash and Twilight and thought about stealing Flash from her. Subverted as she never actually acted on this.
  • Sunset Shimmer forces a deep kiss on Flash in the hallways of CHS right in front of Twilight, and acts like Flash was the one who started it. This sabotage nearly works, since everyone in the school, including all of Flash's friends and Cadance, think he is cheating on Twilight with Sunset, but Flash is quickly able to convince Twilight and Cadance that is not the case by sitting down with them and explaining what happened.
• Relationship Upgrade: It takes some convincing, but Flash eventually gets Twilight to date him.
• Relationship Values: Leveling his S.Links allows Flash to make better Personas.
• Rummage Sale Reject: Rainbow's, Pinkie's, and Sonata's hand-picked combat outfits via Black Butterfly. Especially Sonata's! They first appear on March 13, if you're interested. This predictably gets lampshaded and name-called by Fluttershy.
• Running Gag:
  • Pinkie flirting with Flash.
  • Rainbow Dash not being dressed in the morning.
  • Spike peeing on Flash's shoes. (This one eventually gets phased out.)
  • Twilight's eating habits.
  • Applejack and anything apple related.
  • Flash catching people naked in the showers.
  • Fluttershy kicking people in the face for surprising her or making her mad.
• Say My Name: Flash's Shadow orders Flash to name him as he would name a Persona. Flash names him Orochimaru.
• School Bullying Is Harmless: Averted. The bullying and harassment that Flash and his friends face is a constant source of conflict and misery for them. Sunset Shimmer has ruled the school through bullying and intimidation via Canterbook and Fluttershy became a cyber-bully to ruin the lives of everyone who ever wronged her after she was pushed too far after coming to CHS.
• Secret-Keeper: After the battle with Gemini on Apple Blooms's birthday ZIT is forced to reveal what is going on to Shining Armor, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Sweetie Belle. Because they didn't defeat the two Gemini Shadows and Sunset Shimmer at the same time, they saw them disappear for several minutes instead of no time passing like usual. They promised to keep their secret after they explain everything, including the blackmail Sunset has on them.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Twilight is hesitant to get into a serious relationship with Flash at first because she is afraid they will end up like Shining Armor and Cadance, with Flash cheating on her. As their relationship gets more serious she slowly becomes more possessive of him and over Spring Break, gives him permission to sleep with anyone he wants to get the sex out of his system. Months later, the two get into a heated argument, which includes Twilight calling out Flash on only having girl friends, his pervert nature, and not even resisting when she offered the idea of sleeping with other girls back in Spring Break. Flash is so hurt and angered by Twilight's lack of trust in him he decides the next day to have sex with Trixie after helping her, to get back at Twilight, only to regret it immediately afterwards. Twilight's actions and attitude ultimately made her cause her own fear of Flash cheating on her.
• Sexual Karma: The couples in the story, once they get together and work out their issues, have healthy and active sex lives that respect each others boundaries. In contrast, Sunset Shimmer, the bad girl, only has notable sex experiences involving hate sex with Fluttershy and raping Flash.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl:
  • Rainbow Dash is used to a girls-only dorm, and has absolutely no compunctions about walking around in various states of undress (to the other girls' disapproval). After she runs into Flash while naked, she decides he's already seen it all and stops caring about him, too.
  • Pinkie Pie actually wants Flash to see her naked, but sees it as all good fun (with more than a pinch of sexual attraction).
    • Her Persona, Euphrosyne, wears a bikini-cut bellydancer outfit and not much else. Pinkie then proceeds to cosplay as her, which comes back to bite her later.
    • Her Rainbow Persona, Euphoria, wears even less — mainly body paint and a ribbon that just barely qualifies as "strategically placed".
  • After Flash and Twilight first make love, Twilight loses all inhibitions about being naked around him, or strolling around the dorm naked if there's no one else around.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Cadance really wants Flash and Twilight to hook up and, after they do, explicitly states they are allowed to have sex in the dorm, so long as they are careful. Several other girls at Applewood Dorm also happily support this and plot to make it happen.
  • Flash himself acts as Vinyl's wingman towards Octavia.
• Shout-Out: The story is this for the Persona Games and the MLP franchise.
  • Personas always display the original character's Cutie Mark somewhere in their design.
  • The "big boss" that the team faces in the 1/10/2016 fight is five mechanical lions that fuse into a humanoid giant robot halfway through the fight.
  • At one point the group watches what sounds like The Mysterious Cities of Gold.
  • The pet Sonata receives from Fluttershy on the former's birthday is Zoe Trent.
  • "Don't worry, I'll give her the best birthday ever!" Pinkie says. "I'm talking rainbows, I'm talking puppies, I'm talking butterflies..."
  • Flash, Shining Armor and a few of the girls watch a movie similar to Pulp Fiction and commentate on it at one point.
  • Fluttershy and Flash have both seen a movie where you see what goes on inside your head with your emotions as people.
  • Sonata's Shadow is a sea monster named SIreN after Sin from Final Fantasy X.
  • Cancer has the same design as another giant crab.
  • Flash's Shadow is a pale snake man named Orochimaru from Naruto.
  • Various Ultimate Personas for Flash are cameos from other popular franchises:
    • 0. Fool: Son Goku.
    • II. High Priestess: Kikyo.
    • III. Empress: Hippolyta.
    • IV. Emperor: Optimus Prime.
    • V. Hierophant: My Little Pony's Tantabus, in the guise of Freddy Krueger.
    • VI. Lovers: Princess Serenity.
    • VII. Chariot: Gamera.
    • VIII. Justice: Amaterasu.
    • X: Fortune: Sephiroth.
    • XI: Strength: Ultraman Gaia.
    • XII. Hanged Man: Magus.
    • XIV. Temperance: The Traveler, in the guise of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
    • XV. Devil: Betelgeuse (Shin Megami Tensei II incarnation.)
    • XVI. Tower: Gojira.
• Shower of Love: Twilight and Flash do this in an LTE scene on January 10th and again off-screen on February 15th.
• Skinship Grope: Pinkie offers one to Flash as good luck for a tennis match.
• Slice of Life: Most of the story is this, in between the battles for survival.
• Slut-Shaming: Pinkie's parents disown her when they receive pictures of her Euphrosyne Halloween costume and her sexy photos saying that she should join her fellows on the street corner.
• Spit Take: Pinkie manages one. So does Twilight.
• Squick: The Gemini Shadows utterly disgust the party members on their appearance alone —then their methods of attack make it worse.
• Stealth Pun: Applejack's birthday presents tend to be apple-themed. So, for Christmas, she gives Flash a gift card for music downloads...
• Straight Gay: Vinyl Scratch. Nobody really knows she's a lesbian until she admits to Flash that she's interested in hooking up with another girl.
• Suddenly Speaking: Sonata Dusk, who was rendered mute in a car accident, has two different incidents happen to her that allows her to talk. When pulled into Zodiac Fluttershy can "hack" her to allow her to speak by converting her thoughts into words. Then on 5/17 she reveals that she got a little voice back when visiting the Doctor in the real world, not enough to sing or speak loudly for very long, but just enough say a few words every now and then.
• Superboss: The Shadow Trials. Zecora specifically mentions that the party can choose not to confront them, and they only apply to maxed-out S.Links, but they face them anyway not just for their personal development, but for the major rewards earned from them.
• Surrounded by Idiots: How Fluttershy feels about ZIT most of the time. She points out that all they did in battles early on was rush in to battle going "Leeroy Jenkins" on their enemies, and overlooking all the clues that she was Eris, which she purposely left for them to find. Even outside of Zodiac stuff, she points out that Flash and Twilight were both acting like idiots when Twilight gave Flash permission to sleep with anyone over Spring Break, only to break up months later when they finally face the problems this caused.
• Synchronization:
  • If your Persona is attacked or injured, you will be afflicted with their same pain, which will persist outside of Zodiac.
  • It is implied that dying during the "optional" Shadow Trials, despite taking place in the Velvet Room, would also mean physical death in the real world, even once they start taking place as mental projections while the party is asleep.
• Take That!: Flash states that all of the PSAs on TV saying the way to deal with a bully are to tell a teacher or parent about them are bullshit and everyone who has ever been bullied knows it. The only way to deal with a bully is to stand up to them and push back.
• Tarot Motifs: The S.Links are represented by a different Arcana befitting either the character's personality and what they're going through. The various Personas that can be awakened and summoned are all also tied to the Arcana of S.Links themselves.
• Teens Are Monsters: Zodiac is populated by all the trash talking being done by the students behind everyone's back. Cadence even ended up traumatized when she sees in Zodiac a couple of male students' graphic desire to rape her. Cadance takes several days off sick in response.
• Teleportation Rescue: How Cadance saves Flash's group after the Gemini battle just as Sunset Shimmer was about to use her Persona on them.
• Terms of Endangerment: After Sunset kisses Flash in front of Twilight and acts like he was the one who kissed her, she calls him "loverboy".
• There Are No Therapists: Averted: Cadence starts to see one after she cheats on Shining with Flash. Everyone else has to rely on other people (mainly Flash) to get over their personal issues.
• Third-Person Person: Trixie. She gets better, but can fall into it when emotional.
• Third Wheel: Pinkie becomes one to Flash and Twilight's relationship. They don't mind though because they've come to love her like family and know she needs it after being disowned by her parents.
• Too Much Information: Pinkie names her dildo Buzz Lightyear, because it takes her to infinity and beyond.
• Took a Level in Badass: Everyone in the party upon maxing out their S.Link and receiving their Rainbow Persona, but special mention goes to Rainbow Dash. After her Link maxes out, Flash notes that Nike Invicta is a much more capable fighter than the original Nike.
• Trick Boss: Of the three enemies faced on Applejack's birthday, Taurus is the least effective, and is essentially a decoy.
• True Companions: Maxed S.Links are bonds that cannot be broken.
• The Unfavorite: With the exception of Maud, Pinkie is not liked by her family to say the least.
• The Unfought: Aquarius. The Hunter Shadows can only hunt once per year, so its killing Snips on his birthday paves the way for a peaceful Valentine's Day and birthday celebration for Cadance.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Octavia and Lyra both contribute to this. Octavia invites Flash to a pool party and he avoids inviting Twilight or Pinkie so it won't cause a crowd or make a scene. Then Lyra tells Twilight and Pinkie where Flash was and the two are angry at him for not telling them himself. This ends up being the trigger that causes Twilight and Flash to argue with each other the next day, leading to Flash having sex with Trixie to get back at Twilight.
• Urban Fantasy: Kids in high school travel to another dimension to fight monsters. Then they do homework.
• Urine Trouble: A Running Gag for an early part of the story was Spike peeing on Flash's shoe during morning walks. After awhile this gag is phased out, but then Spike pees on him again on June 15th. Then Flash gets payback by pretending to pee on Spike.
• Violence is the Only Option: With the exception of Cadance, no one can escape Zodiac while being hunted on their birthday.
• Was It All a Lie?: Applejack lets off a rather violent version of this when her birthday rolls around.
• We Cannot Go On Without You: The Zodiac Investigation Team can't defeat Hunter Shadows on their own; if Flash is knocked out or killed by an attack, they must be quick to revive him; if they lack the ability, or if he overexerts himself from excessive use of his Personas, they can't do anything but run.
• Weirdness Search and Rescue: This is Cadence's bread and butter while in Zodiac.
• Wham Episode: Where to begin?
  • How about the February 9 2016 episode? Sunset Shimmer sneaks into the dorm and rapes Flash.
  • Even bigger is 2/28, where it's finally revealed that Fluttershy is indeed Eris, there's a Climax Boss battle, and Fluttershy reveals Sunset Shimmer as Mephistopheles, along with the fact that she's been doing all this with Sunset for over a year! However, she knows Sunset's gone batshit insane and wants out of the whole mess.
  • 6/4 and 6/5. Suddenly, an incredibly calm and collaborative Sunset Shimmer has moved to the dorm. Or, more exactly, unceremoniously dumped in the place by a person that suspiciously looked like her father, under very dubious circumstances. She claims that she's okay staying because, as she simply can't get why after everything she has thrown to the Zodiac Investigation Team they are still sane and together, she'll use her time in the dorm to learn exactly what makes them tick. Then she casually says that the group are strong enough to confront the three remaining Hunters even without her help. And then she turns out to be the Jester Arcana S.Link.
  • 6/26 starts with revealing that Shining Armor and Sunset Shimmer had sex the night before. When confronted Shining confesses that Sunset looks just like a senior named Copper Penny he had a crush on in High School. Eventually Flash, Twilight, and the rest of ZIT confront Sunset over this action and her actions as of late and she breaks down saying Shining actually treated her like a person and she has been hated and alone for so long she thought that if she hung out with ZIT, they would forgive her like they did Fluttershy. To prove her sincerity, she gives her phone to Fluttershy who then deletes all her blackmail material on EVERYONE and shuts down the backup servers. Now they must decide what to so with Sunset and decide if they will forgive her, if she is really telling the truth.
  • 7/14 begins with the Shadow Cadance battle, once more with Flash unable to do anything to help the others. Afterwards, Flash finally reveals to Twilight and the rest of the dorm that he had sex with Trixie to get back at Twilight. Flash fights and defeats his own inner Shadow, but there are no celebrations. Igor reveals that Flash has Reversed every Social Link he has formed with the members of ZIT, all of whom he was maxed with, and has broken the Friendship Social Link. In the morning, Twilight breaks up with Flash and he is kicked out of the dorm, forced to stay at a hotel with his parents.
• Wham Line:
  • A system message asks Flash to check his horoscope app. When he does so, he sees this: Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Sunset Shimmer no longer has control of your horoscope. I do. I'm the best friend you've got right now if you want to keep everyone you love alive. You'd better stop ignoring this app. I'm trying to save your life.
  • On May 23, "By the way!" he calls back to me. "You really don't want to mess with Sunset Shimmer and her Persona until around her birthday!" Said by Juan the Janitor, the Devil S.Link, whom Flash and the readers knew was he involved with Canterbook's development but until then no one thought he knew about Zodiac too.
  • On June 22, when Flash and his friends see that they are skipping the Devil Arcana and fighting the shadow for the Temperance Arcana instead, Zecora explains: "The sun may rise, and the rooster may crow, but the Devil casts no Shadow." However, this is after she previously stated that all humans have a shadow they don't accept.
• What the Hell Are You?: Several characters ask this to Flash regarding his ability to use multiple Personas and his unusual stamina.
• What the Hell, Hero?: There is no shortage of this for Flash whenever he does something wrong. He occasionally gets called out for the things that weren't his fault too.
  • Igor and Zecora were not happy about Flash not using the Velvet Room to its full potential early on.
  • After joining ZIT, Rarity points out to him and the others how they haven't been gathering evidence about Zodiac and have just been fighting the shadows. She is also mad when Flash states he had Merlin since before her birthday and didn't use it sooner.
  • Flash's friends quickly turn on him when they think he cheated on Twilight with Sunset, even though Sunset was the one who kissed him, not the other way around.
  • Fluttershy tells off Flash and the others for always going Leeroy Jenkins and tells them to start coming up with actual battle plans against the shadows.
  • Perhaps the biggest case yet, Twilight argues with Flash for spending so much time with other girls and being such a big pervert. When Flash has sex with Trixie to get back at Twilight for not trusting him, and feeling guilty about it confesses days later, Twilight breaks up with him, he is ostracized by the rest of ZIT, and he is kicked out of the dorm by Cadance.
• Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Pinkie's family is serious, conservative, and deliberately bland people while Pinkie is outgoing, liberal, and vivacious. Pinkie and her family constantly butt heads, with both trying to have the absolute minimum interaction with each other before it comes to a head.
• Work Hard, Play Hard: Vice-Principal Luna. On the job, she's the most fearsome and hard-nosed authority figure in the school. Off the clock, she'll play video games, bake desserts and wear as little as Rainbow Dash.
• Would Hit a Girl:
  • Flash, if you piss him off enough. Just ask Fluttershy.
  • He does it again when he slaps Sunset Shimmer for sleeping with Shining Armor.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Sunset Shimmer attempts this on Flash. She breaks into the dorm one night in February and rapes him, then one month later claims that she is pregnant with Flash's child because he forced himself on her. Although she was attempting to get pregnant for real when she raped him it didn't work and she just made up that she was pregnant to humiliate Flash. Though many people in the school believe the rumor at first, the attempt ultimately fails when Flash, Cadance and Celestia call her out on her lie and set up a test to prove it is false. Sunset backs down and admits her lie but gets out of any official punishment by messaging over Canterbook that she panicked and misread her result. Despite the rumor being proved false, many people are still upset at Flash for having had sex with Sunset, but Sunset herself is just as humiliated as Flash.
• Year Inside, Hour Outside:
  • While one is inside Zodiac, no time passes in the real world. Notably, after Flash smashes Eris' phone on Rainbow's birthday and forces her out, the Team finds that half an hour had passed while they were inside.
  • Flash's interactions with Igor and Zecora in the Velvet Room happen in his mindscape, separate from the passage of time. The Shadow Trials occur within an aspect of the Velvet Room, and whether the party is awake or asleep during the event, the same rules apply.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Flash's internal reaction to forming the Moon S.Link with Trixie.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Sunset does this to Snips by having Aquarius kill him. She also tries this on Fluttershy with Aries but this attempt failed.

---