Fate is a Funny Old Thing

by Steventheman

The Strong Prevail

Cirno threw the empty beer can aside. With a dopey smile on her face, she stumbled to the fridge and took out the plate of gelatin.

"I love jelly..." Cirno slurred, slamming her face into the dessert. It was then she noticed something poking her in the shoulder. She turned around and was hit in the face by a frying pan.

"Ow!" she cried, sliding across the floor. She stared up at her attacker.

A bunny rabbit.

"That's it..." Cirno stuttered, stumbling to her feet. "I'm gonna make you an Arctic ice core!"

The bunny beckoned in a 'Come at me' pose. Cirno stumbled at the bunny, and lamely attempted to kick him through a window. Sadly, the bunny avoided the fairy's attack, and pushed her other leg, causing her to fall head-over-heels. The fairy roared in rage, and went for the rabbit again. However, she misjudged the distance, and fell short.

"That's it..." Cirno growled, a blue mist appearing around her hands. "Freeze! Freeze to death!"

Cirno went to strangle the rabbit. She lunged once more. The rabbit effortlessly side-stepped Cirno's death grip, before looking her in the eye.

"Stupid rabbit," Cirno sighed, standing up and stumbling. "You win this round...But I'll get you...one day..."

The rabbit watched as Cirno stumbled upstairs into Fluttershy's bedroom. The ice fairy looked at a picture of the pegasus, before throwing it aside, unwittingly knocking a parrot off her perch. Cirno giggled at the parrot falling to the floor, before collapsing face down onto the bed, and falling asleep.

Angel looked at the sleeping fairy, before hopping off to do something else more worth his time.

---

Marisa hovered over the town, the terrible thoughts now cleaned from her mind by happier thoughts and the bitter winds. Shivering, she stood atop her makeshift broom, before putting her hands together and lifting one leg up. She closed her eyes and exhaled, before she started to feel herself fall. She counted the seconds to terminal velocity, then estimated her current altitude. She counted the seconds to impact in her head, before regaining her flight. She listened out for the sound of the mop hitting the floor.

There was a metallic pinging sound as the mop impacted the road.

"0.3 seconds." Marisa whispered to herself, before opening her eyes and seeing that she was but a centimeter from the ground. "Must try harder..."

Marisa turned around to the blank stares of Rarity and a yellow pegasus.

"Hey Rarity!" Marisa called out. "I drop in on you a lot, don't I?"

"...How did you do that!?" Rarity asked, stunned.

"Simple. I counted seconds," Marisa said, landing on the ground. "Don't act so shocked."

"Is this one of the humans you mentioned, Rarity?" the yellow pegasus besides her asked.

"Yes...this is Marisa," Rarity introduced. "She helped with the battle last night."

"Yep, that was me!" Marisa boasted. "Name's Marisa Kirisame."

"Fluttershy..." the pegasus stuttered, retreating behind Rarity.

"What's the matter? Scared of the big bad witch?" Marisa mocked.

"Marisa!" Rarity snapped.

"Geez, lighten up a little," Marisa replied dismissively. "I did just fall about a thousand feet."

Marisa picked the mop up and mounted it again.

"Well, I'm going home now. Need a ride, Rarity?"

"No no, I'm going for tea with Fluttershy."

"Cool," Marisa replied, walking away. "See you guys later!"

---

Reimu held a small mug of tea, sitting on the armchair of Rarity's living room. She looked over to Mobius and Flandre using books as building blocks. She allowed herself a small smile, before she clicked the radio on.

"...And now we go to the Phone-In Hour. This is Ms. Smith from Sweet Apple Acres. Ms. Smith, you're on The Midday Show with Shortwave!" the enthusiastic radio broadcaster stated. "What have you got to say?"

"Hello, I've never in all my years seen events like the ones in the past few days," an ancient voice responded.

"Ah, you're talking about the midnight air skirmish, am I right?"

"Back in my day, we would have called the entire army! It's the aliens that have been appearing!"

Reimu leaned forward, listening intently.

"Ah yes, the three bipeds who shot down the fourth."

"They should have strung her up by the neck!" the voice complained. Flandre dropped her book and looked at the radio.

"Well, the Royal Guard did officially declare that the threat was killed at 12:34 AM by the Rapier Squadron..." Shortwave replied, trying to placate the old pony.

"I doubt it! Isn't it strange that they appear before it happened?"

"Well, we have been unable to contact them, so we cannot really throw baseless accusations of guilt at them..." Shortwave stuttered. "Wait...we have news. Our news reporter Hot Scoop has found one of the bipeds."

Reimu dropped her tea.

"Oh Marisa, don't screw this up..." Reimu almost prayed.

"Hello, young...lady, right?" a young-sounding female voice asked.

"Yeah, I'm a woman," Marisa answered.

"Tell us, how did you first arrive in Ponyville?"

"Well, me and my friend Marisa-"

"What the Hell is she doing!?" Reimu shouted at the radio, attracting the attention of Mobius and Flandre.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?"

"My name's Reimu Hakurei, shrine maiden!" Marisa answered on public radio.

"Marisa Kirisame!" Reimu shouted, bounding out of the building and flying straight up, fuelled not by tea like she usually was, but by pure rage. "You're going to die now!"

Mobius and Flandre looked at each and shrugged, before completing their building - a model of an aircraft carrier.

---

"So I was like: 'Marisa, how come you seem to know everything?' and she was like: 'Oh, I just had a feeling that the Moriya Shrine was currently exploding.'"

"So what is this Moriya Shrine you keep mentioning?" Hot Scoop questioned.

"Hell if I know. Anyway, as I was saying..." Marisa looked up to the sky in thought, before noticing a rapidly descending red and white ball of pure, Hellish anger. "Umm, it's been real nice chatting, but I gotta run!"

Marisa took off sprinting despite the confused newscaster's questions, before Reimu landed before her.

"Ah, it's another biped now!" Hot Scoop said. "Hello, miss. What is your name?"

"Reimu Hakurei," Reimu grunted. "You were just talking to Marisa Kirisame. And I am about to murder her!"

"Wait, what?"

"Marisa was using my name on your show," Reimu growled. "Don't be surprised if you're reporting a highly annoying witch getting impaled on an entire house later!"

With the confusion cleared up, Reimu set about flying after the now-panicking Marisa, who had been the victim of Reimu's anger before.

Marisa turned into an alleyway and doubled over panting, before noticing a wave of danmaku flying at her. She dived to the ground, before noticing the shrine maiden rapidly approaching.

"You can't escape me Kirisame!" Reimu roared, before grabbing the witch by the collar, and delivering a vicious backhand. Marisa stared at her friend. Her angry expression was replaced by one of complete regret.

"You...you hit me," Marisa whispered. Reimu dropped the witch.

"M-marisa..." Reimu whispered. "I-I'm sor-"

"I don't want to hear a single word," Marisa growled, a red hand mark on her cheek. "Don't bother coming home tonight. If you do, I'll tell Flandre to go to town on you."

"But-"

"But nothing, Hakurei," Marisa replied. "It was fun while it lasted."

"While what lasted?"

"Y'know. Our working relationship, our various alliances...How about our friendship, huh? Does that mean anything to you? Does anything? Because it meant something to me!"

"But...you used my name on a public broadcast to tell lies!"

"Newsflash: I've used your name hundreds of times! You realise how easier my job is when people think I'm you?!" Marisa shouted. "Nobody ever takes me seriously! Well, it's about time they did. Starting with you. Find your own bed tonight. I'll look after Flandre and Mobius."

"Oh no you don't!" Reimu yelled back. "I'm keeping that kid and that pilot!"

"How about you see them on weekends?" Marisa mocked. She went to leave the alleyway, but was stopped by Reimu.

"You're not leaving until we either solve this or kill each other."

"Reimu. Move."

"No."

"Move!"

"No!"

"Bitch! Get out of my way!" Marisa spat, shoving the shrine maiden out of her path.

Reimu watched as Marisa stormed off. She stared at the ground, before she saw a teardrop on her shoe.

"What have I done..?"

---

Fluttershy removed the key from her saddlebag and unlocked the door. Pushing open the door, she stopped when she saw the glass on the floor from a broken window, her fridge door wide open, a plate of jelly spread all over the kitchen floor, with most of it being eaten by animals, and a single empty can of beer on the floor.

"S-someone broke in..." Fluttershy stuttered. Her eyes overflowed with tears.

"Fluttershy, get back!" Rarity replied, pushing the pegasus behind her and warming up a self-defence spell. "Whoever's in here, come out now and I won't hurt you!"

There was no reply. Rarity noticed a trail of small jelly pieces leading up the staircase. She followed them, and saw a blue-haired biped sleeping heavily on Fluttershy's bed.

"Oh no...I can't fit any more into my house..." Rarity whispered. She turned towards the staircase. "Fluttershy! Come here! Bedroom!"

After about a minute, Fluttershy joined Rarity. The biped was still asleep. Rarity checked her over. She was similar in size to Flandre Scarlet, except this biped had wings resembling ice crystals.

"Ngh..." the biped grunted, opening her eyes to a very distraught Fluttershy and an angry Rarity. "Oh great. What did I do this time!?"

"You broke into my friend's house and vandalized her property." Rarity replied angrily. "Apologize."

"I can barely remember what happened last night."

"...It happened at least three hours ago." Fluttershy stated.

"Whatever. I'm outta here." Cirno dismissed, hopping off the bed, before having her path blocked by Rarity.

"You're going to clean that mess up, young lady."

"Whose gonna make me?" Cirno challenged.

"I know somebody named Reimu who specialises in people like you." Rarity threatened. Cirno's expression remained unchanged.

"Oh, so you know red-white. Big deal." Cirno jeered, getting into Rarity's face. Rarity could smell the alcohol on Cirno's breath. "Tell me why I shouldn't just freeze you right now?"

Rarity's horn lit up, before a lightning bolt shocked the fairy. Cirno jumped back, before there was another zap.

"So you can zap me. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?" Cirno growled.

"No, I don't." Rarity replied. She remembered the smell of Cirno's breath. "If I get you more beer, will you calm down and apologize?"

Cirno crossed her arms. "Maybe."

"Fine. Fluttershy, go to the store and buy more beer." Rarity said.

"Okay." Fluttershy replied.

"And get help." Rarity whispered. The fairy didn't notice.

---

Marisa slammed the door as she entered Rarity's house again. Mobius looked up at his book.

"Mobius, if Reimu comes back here, throw her out!" Marisa ordered. "I don't want to see her ever again!"

Mobius stared while Marisa charged into the guest bedroom and threw herself onto the bed. How could Reimu turn on me like that!? she thought to herself. She didn't notice Flandre in the corner, drawing with Sweetie's crayons.

"Damn shrine maiden...should have never called her my friend!" Marisa yelled into the pillow. "Thinks she can do whatever she wants to me...well, I'll show her..."

"What's wrong, Marisa?" Flandre asked quietly, startling the witch. Marisa approached the vampire, knelt down and put her arm around her.

"Listen...me and Reimu have had some problems...it's nothing for you to worry about," Marisa explained, hoping that the situation wouldn't lead to Flandre thinking that she could start getting away with things. "Just...go somewhere else. Give me some time alone, okay kid?"

Flandre nodded and walked out of the room. Marisa sat on the ground, before seeing Flandre's picture.

Marisa sighed, before folding it up and placing it into her apron's pocket. She put her hand over her eyes in thought. Her cheek still stung from the impact of Reimu's angry hand.

She looked up, before looking at her hand.

Her palm shined with tears.

---

Reimu walked down the street, ignoring the stares of the ponies. She simply focused on her steps and breaths. It was the only thing she could think about. Every thought led back to that slap, that expression on Marisa's face...She wasn't angry, she felt betrayed by the act of physical violence. Reimu threw every curse she knew at herself mentally for even thinking that striking her friend was a good idea. She had completely broken her friendship with Marisa. There might be a possibility that the relationship would never recover. And now that Marisa had barred her from returning to Rarity's home, she had lost all her allies in this land - Mobius One, Rarity, even Flandre.

Reimu realised that returning to Rarity was no longer an option. She was truly alone. Under normal circumstances, this would have been ideal...but not on such a sour note as the incident today. She felt her stomach growl. She looked around and noticed a brown pony wearing an expensive coat. Reimu looked at the marks on his rear. She had noticed them previously, but never paid it much mind. The mark was three bags, with strange currency symbols on them. She had no money, and no choice. She had kindly asked for donations before, but this was just begging in the streets.

"Excuse me...sir?" Reimu asked. "Have...have you got any money to spare?"

"Oh. Sure." the stallion responded, giving Reimu five shiny gold coins. "You saved this town, after all!"

"Thanks..." Reimu replied, before turning away from the charitable pony. She walked into a small shop.

The store was quite different from one in Gensokyo. The stock was placed on white metal shelves, which stretched to the back of the store. The stock was organized into neat sections, and all drinks were along a single wall, which hummed quietly. Reimu ducked her head as she walked through the automatic doors. The shopkeep didn't even look up at her as Reimu walked into the store, clutching her five bits. Behind the shopkeeper, there was a wall of various cardboard boxes and alcohol bottles. Reimu sighed as she approached the shopkeeper.

"Excuse me?"

The shopkeeper looked up from her newspaper. "What?"

"What have you got in stock?" Reimu asked.

The shopkeeper stared at her like she was stupid, before pointing her hoof at the rest of the store.

"Thanks," Reimu grunted half-heartedly, as she headed for the shelves. Looking through the stock, she found that though she was hungry, she had no appetite any more. She returned to the shopkeeper and looked at the alcohol bottles.

"What's the cheapest and strongest alcohol you have?" Reimu asked. "I have five...coins, I guess."

"Five bits isn't getting you much..." the shopkeeper warned, before looking through the selection. "You want lager, wine, vodka..?"

"What is the strongest?"

"...Griffon Standard vodka," the shopkeep said, handing Reimu the bottle and taking the money. "Thank you. Come again."

Reimu walked outside holding the bottle. She sighed, before twisting the cap off.

Author's Note:

Fun Fact: Flandre is a better artist than me.

No seriously, I had to TRY to be as good as a young child.

Comments

[zel]

The image. So beautiful.

[Steventheman]

3194956

I'm ashamed to say that it took me almost an hour to draw...because the first image I drew was so crap that it didn't even look like a young child drew it.

[zel]

3194971 You could have used walfas if you did not feel like drawing. Oh well, I still saved it for some reason.

[TheSumirekoFan]

I can't see the image. Can you give me a link to the picture?