//------------------------------//
// Magic 3: ブルー・エンジェル 
// Story: 友達は魔法少女　～ＦＲＩＥＮＤＳＨＩＰ　ＩＳ　ＭＡＧＩＣＡＬ　ＧＩＲＬＳ～ 
// by MythrilMoth 
//------------------------------//

The first thing Rainbow Dash saw was two giant beetles trapped in a giant booger.

"Dude, that is SO gross," she said.

Twilight spun around, eyes flashing behind her glasses. "You shouldn't be here!" she said. "It's dangerous!"

"Listen, you," Rainbow shot back, "until I understand what the hell's goin' on here, I'm not lettin' you outta my sight!"

Twilight sighed, taking off her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Fine," she spat. "But keep hidden and stay safe. This is no game." She turned to Spike. "Look out for her while I take care of business," she said.

"Hai!"

Twilight handed her glasses to Spike, who made them disappear with a flicker of green fire. She reached into her uniform blouse and withdrew a silver locket with a symbol engraved on the front: a large six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller six-pointed stars. She extended her other hand, palm facing forward.

"Element of Harmony..."

Her palm glowed, and a small lavender gem in the shape of a six-pointed star materialized. She snatched it out of the air with her thumb and index finger, then opened the locket with her other hand, revealing a matching recess into which she placed the star-shaped gem.

"MAGIC!!"





Magic 3: ブルー・エンジェル


Rainbow stared, eyes wide.

Twilight Sparkle's school uniform had been replaced by the lavender costume she had been wearing that horrible night. With a burst of violet light, the baton with the unicorn head appeared in her right hand; she twirled it and struck a pose, left leg drawn up slightly, left hand on her hip, and baton held straight at her side, parallel with her right leg.

"Holy crap," Rainbow said. "She really is a mahoushoujo."

"Yep," Spike said, "and I'm her partner."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at him. "So you're a...mahoushounen?"

Spike sputtered indignantly. "That's madoushi!" he insisted.

"So why were you feeling her up just now?" Rainbow asked. "Heck, why was she LETTING you feel her up?"

Spike put his right hand behind his head and laughed. "Eheheh...that's a long story." He looked up. "And now isn't the time! RUN!"

Spike grabbed Rainbow's hand and dragged her across the observation deck. A massive glob of slime splattered where the two of them had been standing. The Changelings had broken free from Spike's trap and were looming over Twilight. She stared them down defiantly.

"So...YOU'RE the hunter," the stag beetle hissed.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Your kind have no place in this world! I will not allow innocents to die to feed your demonic hunger!" She twirled her baton in front of her, then pointed the unicorn head at the Changelings. "Bearing the Element of Magic, I will destroy you in the name of the Sun!"

Rainbow stared, slack-jawed. "Speeches? She does speeches?"

Spike shrugged. "Eh. It's a mahoushoujo thing."

The stag beetle charged Twilight; she leapt high into the air, pointing her baton at it. With a wordless shout, she fired a blast of energy which staggered it. As she landed, the rhinoceros beetle rushed in and intercepted her with its horn, sending her flying. "Protect!" she cried, waving her baton around her as she flew; a soft force bubble enveloped her, guiding her to a gentle landing. She regained her footing and dispelled the protective bubble, then aimed her baton at the Changeling which had struck her. "Contain!"

The beetle evaded her spell and took wing, charging her. Meanwhile, the stag beetle had recovered, and began circling around behind, hoping to surround Twilight. Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "Why that dirty...!"

"They're evil monsters," Spike said. "I don't think they're interested in fair play. LOOK OUT, NEECHAN!"

Twilight rolled to the side, allowing the two Changelings to crash into each other. "Nice!" she called. "Contain!" A force bubble snapped into place around the two Changelings.

The stag beetle hissed. "Foolish human! You can't hold us!" The force bubble warped and flickered as the beetles' horns glowed with eerie green light. Twilight leapt back, pausing in mid-spell, as the containment spell shattered. The beetles advanced menacingly.

Spike traced a glowing rune in the air. It changed from green to red, then turned black. "NEECHAN!" he cried. "Containment magic makes them stronger!" He paused, then smacked his palm against his forehead. "Shimatta...! I used containment magic on them!"

"Don't worry about it, Spike!" Twilight called back as she sprinted away from the beetles. "You didn't know!"

"You've gotta help her!" Rainbow shouted.

Spike shook his head. "It's no good! Anything I could do that would actually affect them would just make them stronger!"

Twilight began firing magic blasts at the beetles; they zig-zagged back and forth, barely dodging her blasts, which gouged holes in the floor tiles. The stag beetle opened its jaws wide and spat out a thick chain of black chitin, which caught Twilight around the ankle. She shrieked as she went down.

"Now you die!" the rhinoceros beetle roared, pouncing.

"Barrier!" Twilight cried hastily. A protective magic circle formed between her and the Changeling; it battered against the magic with its horn, hissing.

"Chikushou...!" Rainbow cried. "We can't just stand here and watch!" She looked around the observation deck desperately, then sprinted over to the toilets. One of the toilets had an "Out Of Service" sign on the door, and was blocked off with a velvet rope. She unhooked the rope from one of the stanchions and hefted it, testing its weight, then raced over to where the Changelings were trying to destroy Twilight's barrier. With a defiant yell, Rainbow smashed the base of the stanchion into the rhinoceros beetle's head, then hooked it under a foreleg and pulled with all her might. It fell awkwardly to its side. Jumping on top of it, she wedged the stanchion between the jaws of the stag beetle and tried to suplex it. She ended up on her back; the Changeling turned and screeched at her, eyes glowing menacingly.

"Stupid human girl!" it hissed. "I'm going to rip you apart!"

"REPEL!"

A powerful magic blast sent the stag beetle flying. Twilight stood, leaning against her baton like a cane. Gasping for breath, she stared at Rainbow through her bangs. "What...were you...thinking?!"

"I was thinking you were about to get killed!" Rainbow replied, picking her improvised weapon back up and brandishing it like a hammer. "I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!"

"Well...that's...!" Twilight said. "I appreciate it, but you're no match for these things!"

"Didn't look to me like you were doin' so hot either," Rainbow retorted.

Any reply from Twilight was cut off as the Changelings flanked them.

"Crap," Rainbow muttered.

"Hey! Titless girl! Catch!"

Something silver flashed through the air; Rainbow jumped up and caught it. It was a silver locket, similar to Twilight's, but with a smooth, unadorned face. "What the heck am I supposed to do with this?" she asked. "And don't call me titless!"

Twilight's eyes widened. "Spike? What are you—"

In answer, Spike produced a small gilded chest and opened it. A flashing red hexagonal gem floated out of it, then zipped toward Rainbow, who caught it instinctively. The gem changed shape, becoming a red lightning bolt; the cover of the locket glowed a bright sky blue, and a symbol engraved itself into the silver: a puffy cloud with a striped lightning bolt.

"You've been chosen by an Element of Harmony!" Spike said. "You have the power to transform!"

Rainbow blinked. "Transform? You mean...like Twilight?"

"Yeah! Open the locket, put the gem inside..."

"Yeah yeah, I remember what she did," Rainbow said. She held the locket above her head.  "Element of Harmony..."

Rainbow clicked the locket open, revealing a recess that matched the lightning-shaped gem. With her thumb and index finger, she placed the gem into the recess.

"LOYALTY!"

Rainbow's skin turned sky blue as her clothes exploded away from her body. She rose into the air, spinning slowly in place; tremendous, feathery blue wings burst from her shoulderblades, spreading wide behind her. The blue hue of her skin pooled around her legs, arms, and front, becoming a backless, form-fitting spandex one-piece in sky blue which, save for her bare back and head, covered every inch of her body. Rainbow stripes ran down her sides from armpit to ankle. Ribbed cuffs in bands of red, yellow, and indigo separated her boots and gloves from the suit proper. Bands of indigo, yellow, and red circled her waist, joined by a silver-lined cloud that sat just below her navel. Laurels of golden fig leaves rested atop her head. A lance, nearly as long as she was tall, appeared in her right hand: the haft was the same sky blue as her costume, with a pair of silver wings at the butt end, and six sharp spikes at the other end, protruding perpendicular to the haft, each in a different, gleaming metallic color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

She stared down at herself, then at her unconventional weapon, then at the huge, feathery wings on her back...

And fell on her butt. "Wha...what?!"

Twilight's eyes widened. "How did...?!"

The Changelings backed away guardedly. "TWO hunters...?" the stag beetle hissed.

"It doesn't matter how many there are!" the rhinoceros beetle snapped. "Just kill them!"

Rainbow jumped to her feet, testing the heft of her new weapon. "Okay, this is kind of awesome..."

"Then use it!" Twilight suggested. "Transfigure," she said as she held her own baton in front of her. It glowed violet and changed shape, becoming a tapered golden rapier with a pink six-pointed star gem set in its lavender hilt. She settled into a guarded stance.

Rainbow gave her wings a tentative flap...then launched herself into the air. "Aw yeah," she said, smirking. "See how you like this, ya big ugly bugs!" She divebombed the stag beetle, smashing the spikes of her weapon into the weaker armor of its head. It screeched as glowing green blood spurted from the wound. With a confident grin, Rainbow shouted, "ZAP!" Lightning coursed down the shaft of her lance, arcing into the wounded Changeling, who twitched and writhed and screamed. With a loud, sizzling *pop*, its head exploded, spraying green blood all over the floor.

Twilight stared. "Uh...good work," she said softly. Her sword glowed as she levelled it at the other Changeling. "Specimen pin!" With a quick sweep of the blade, she sent a series of golden needles flashing toward the beetle. Most of them struck its armor and vanished, but a few found weak spots and stuck. It twitched as it struggled to rid itself of the magical needles.

The headless stag beetle crawled towards Rainbow, thrashing its legs madly. Six quick swipes of her lance left it limbless and twitching. "Finish 'em off, Twilight!" Rainbow called.

"Hai!" Twilight brought her rapier over her head. "ERASE MAGIC!" She brought her rapier down in a quick, whipping motion, pointing it at the Changelings. A wave of dazzling golden light studded with violet sparkles poured forth from the blade, enveloping them. They screamed and writhed in agony.  When the blinding light faded, the Changelings were gone, leaving only two small piles of black soot. Twilight's rapier glowed briefly and reverted to its earlier baton form. She leaned against it, clutching a stitch in her side. "I need...more exercise," she wheezed.

Rainbow smirked, crossing her arms as she hung in midair. "Yeah, no kidding. Good thing you've got me to help with that."

Spike ran over, grinning madly. "That. Was. Awesome!" he said.

Twilight looked up at Rainbow, face unreadable. "Do you have any idea what you've just gotten yourself into?" she asked.

Rainbow shrugged. "Not really, but...I know if I wasn't here you'd be dead, and seein' as how these stupid bugs killed my boyfriend, I'd say I've got a right to be involved."

Twilight sighed. "Fair enough." Her baton disappeared; her lavender costume reverted to her school uniform. "Come back to my place, I've got some things to fill you in on. Spike, will you clean up here?"

"Don't I always?"

As Twilight headed for the elevators, Rainbow followed her slowly. She blinked, looking over her shoulder at her enormous blue wings.

"Uhh...Twilight? How do I change back?"

The sealed-off toilet door, which had been slightly open, closed silently.


* * * * *


The sun had long since set. Twilight and Rainbow sat in a mostly-empty train car.

"—and so my teacher, the Great Sun Sage Celestia, sent me here to eliminate the Changelings," Twilight said. She grimaced and added, "she also wants to me to make friends...I more or less kept to myself back on Sun Island. Well, except for my big brother and Spike."

"And what about these Elements of Harmony things?" Rainbow asked, fingering the lightning-shaped gem she now carried.

Twilight shrugged. "I don't really understand them myself," she admitted. "Celestia-sama just said they'd be important to my mission. I just know that they let me use more powerful magic than I can use on my own. And, apparently, they can turn people who aren't even mages into mahoushoujo."

Rainbow chuckled. "Heheh, yeah. I never would've pictured myself as a mahoushoujo. But hey, at least I got a kickass weapon. And wings!"

"That part...confuses me," Twilight said. "I'll need to ask Celestia-sama about that."

"One thing still bothers me," Rainbow said. "Why did you let that little twerp feel you up?"

Twilight blushed furiously. "Well...it's complicated."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Just tell me," she said.

"Okay, okay..." Twilight rolled her eyes. "You see, there are a lot of mage clans. Some draw their magical power from virtue, while others draw power from vice. Spike is from the Emerald Flame Dragon Clan, which is one of the clans that powers their magic through vice." She toyed with the hem of her skirt. "Spike and I grew up together. We're practically brother and sister, we're so close. He's been my only real friend for most of my life.

"In the Emerald Flame Dragon Clan, mages are initiated on their tenth birthday. It's clan tradition for mages of the Emerald Flame to use greed to power their magic, but Spike decided to break tradition, and chose a different vice as his power source." She blushed. "He chose lust."

Rainbow made a disgusted face. "That's sick!"

"Well, yes, but..." Twilight shrugged helplessly. "It's also made him the most powerful mage his clan has ever produced. Turns out lust is a much more powerful vice than greed, and a lot easier to draw from."

Rainbow thought about that for a minute. "Yeah, I guess I can see that." She frowned. "So what, you just let him cop a feel every time he needs to recharge?"

Twilight shook her head. "N-no...actually, I pretty much actively discourage him from even trying to touch me. On a daily basis," she added under her breath. "Most of the time, he draws enough power from...well, ogling girls." She grimaced. "Sometimes, when he needs to do a big spell really fast and doesn't have the power he needs, I...show him my panties." She turned crimson. "I hate doing it, but it's...well, it's Spike, so..." She sighed. "But long-range teleportation takes a lot of power, and today was an emergency." She frowned. "But if he'd touched me anywhere else, he'd never be able to draw magic ever again. Or at least not for a month or two."

"Man, you guys are weird," Rainbow said. "Well, I'd better not ever catch him trying to power up offa me."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't worry about that. You're not his type."

They got off the train at the station nearest Twilight's home. When they finally reached the bookstore, Twilight's mother was waiting anxiously. "How bad was it?" she asked.

"Two Changelings," Twilight said with a sigh. "And...Rainbow-san awakened an Element of Harmony."

"Really?" the older woman said, clasping her hands together. "I'm so happy! You fighting those nasty things all alone really had me worried."

Rainbow blinked. "Wait. Your mom knows?!"

"Well, yeah," Twilight said. "I didn't come here from Sun Island alone. I mean, a teenage girl just turning up in the city, living all by herself? That'd be a little suspicious."

"Ah...yeah, I guess..."

"Twiley-chan," Twilight's mother said, "you'd better report to Celestia-sama."

"And introduce Rainbow-san to her, yes," Twilight agreed. "Let's go upstairs."

In Twilight's bedroom, she instructed Rainbow to stand in front of her dresser, facing the mirror. Standing next to her, Twilight said, "Communication." Rainbow's jaw dropped as their reflection in the mirror was replaced by an image of a huge white room, with a beautiful woman sitting behind a massive ivory desk.

"My my, twice in one day?" the woman asked, smiling at Twilight. Her eyes flickered to Rainbow, and a politely curious expression crossed her face.

"Celestia-sama," Twilight said, "this is Rainbow Dash." She paused. "The new bearer of the Element of Loyalty."

Celestia blinked. "That was fast."

"Yeah, it kinda happened while we were fighting two of those creepy bug things," Rainbow said.

Celestia drew in a sharp breath. "Two?! At once?!" She frowned. "That's disturbing."

"Celestia-sama...have you discovered anything else about how the Changelings are reaching our world?"

Celestia frowned. "I'm afraid so, my student," she said. "They're being drawn into this world by powerful dark magic."

"Who would do such a thing?" Twilight asked.

Celestia shook her head. "I don't know. But I do know it'll be up to you—and your new friend—to find the one responsible."

Twilight nodded resolutely. "I'll start looking right away."

"No," Celestia said. "For now, you are to focus on finding and destroying any Changelings that find their way to Pony City. And also..." She smiled. "Continue the other mission I gave you."

Twilight glanced at Rainbow, then looked away, a sullen expression on her face. "Do we really have time for that?" she asked.

"Now, Twilight," Celestia admonished. "Nothing in this world is more important than friendship. You've already made one friend, and that's wonderful, but you need more friends." She smiled. "There is no magic as powerful as the magic of friendship."

"Hai, Celestia-sama," Twilight said with a sigh. The image of Celestia's office was replaced by the reflection of two girls and a spartan bedroom.

"She's right, you know," Spike said from the doorway. "Your whole life, I've been your only friend. You need more friends." He looked Rainbow over, then added, "But try to find friends with bigger tits, okay?"

"SPIKE!"

Rainbow flushed crimson. "Watch it, you little perv! I can make it so your balls never drop!" She drew back a foot threateningly.

Spike backed out of the room. "Okay, okay, chill." He turned and headed down the hall. "Sheesh, what a tomboy," they heard him mutter.

Twilight threw a pillow at the back of his head.

"Nice throw," Rainbow commented as Spike lost his balance and planted his face on the floor.


* * * * *


Two boys, one tall and lanky, the other short and stocky, entered a room lit only by the dim glow of two thin blue light strips that ran along the edges of the ceiling. In the center of this dark room, a figure sat in a large, comfortable chair. The visible (and attractive) crossed legs marked the figure as female, but her face was cast in shadow.

They had never seen her face. They didn't even know her name.

"We've got a problem noso," the lanky one said. His voice was slow and plodding.

"Yeah, a big one choki," the other agreed in a nasally rasp.

"Let's get one thing straight," the seated woman said in a young, strong, hard voice. "I don't have problems. I have minor nuisances, and they don't annoy me for long."

"Yeah, well...this minor nuisance killed two Changelings noso."

"Yeah, and there's more than one of them choki."

"They're like...mahoushoujo or something noso."

The seated girl shifted. "Mahoushoujo, are they? Interesting..."

She stood and stepped forward. Bright lights snapped on, and the two boys got a good look at her for the first time. Their jaws dropped.

"Very interesting indeed," she said.