//------------------------------// // Arc 16 Chapter ?(3) // Story: Student 32: Sunset Shimmer // by Show Stopper //------------------------------// The final night of Mahorafest was far more subdued than the rest of the festival. Most people tried to go about their evening enjoying the festivities, pretending that the event with the colossi had all been a big, elaborate show. Nothing strange at all. Just another amazing feat of Mahorafest. Except, now they were thinking about those other amazing feats. The Martial Arts Tournament had been the most flashy and showy of the festival’s events, but a lot of people were reflecting on some of the stuff they’d seen throughout Mahorafest in a new light. And it wasn’t just the events of the festival itself they were questioning. Almost every eye at Mahora struggled not to drift to the massive tree - bigger than anything they’d ever seen or heard of - which dominated the center of campus. Many attendees stared out across the lake towards Library Island, recalling the insane architecture and tour lectures about its cavernous and labyrinthine depths. And as they approached 3-A’s Midnight Horror House, many of the attendees found themselves trying to see through the smoke and mirrors and figure out if any logical explanation actually existed for its horrors. Fortunately for Sunset’s ego, this scrutiny inevitably and quickly crumbled under the weight of her victims’ terror. Still, as Sunset saw her last guests out - “He’ll be fine. He just fainted. You signed the waivers, right?” - and began tearing down the horror house, she reflected on just how easily a facade of normalcy could crumble. ***** The next day brought with it many questions, and very few who were willing or able to give answers. The teachers of Mahora - and a couple of students as well - found themselves bombarded with questions about the previous night’s events. Takamichi in particular was waylaid by fans, students, and media alike on his way into class. Everyone wanted to know what had really happened throughout the festival, and what that meant for the wider world. “So yeah, magic is real.” The perpetually stonewalled paparazzi would have lost their collective minds had they known that all of their questions were being promptly and succinctly answered in a certain middle-school classroom. Sunset stood at the front of the class, wand in hand, a flame burning at the tip. She privately mused that she could have just used her ring, but figured that the wand would be more convincing. Most of the class (those who were present, at least - Negi and his entourage still hadn’t returned, and Chao’s group were notably absent) stared in awe at the flame as it danced at the end of the star-tipped stick. Sunset had spent the first five minutes of homeroom taking advantage of their teacher’s absence to get ahead of the stream of questions that she knew she would inevitably be facing. She’d left her own past in Equestria and her true form unremarked upon, keeping her explanation to the magical world nearer to Earth. Most of the class was stunned into silence by Sunset’s explanation. Ako had heard all of this over the previous two days, of course, and Zazie, Satsuki, and Kazumi had already known about magic. Evangeline and Misora were both absent, the former likely lying low until the world’s attention turned away from Mahora - she still had a sizable bounty on her head, after all - and the latter out trying to do damage control. Everyone else had had no previous knowledge of magic. “I’m surprised that you’re so shocked,” Sunset continued, turning to Chizuru. “Isn’t Dog-boy living with you? Surely you must have realized something was strange about him? And I know you were in the tent when I showed off to Haruna.” The motherly redhead put a hand to her cheek and looked up, nodding. “I thought that you were pranking her, to be honest. And I was taken aback by Kotarou-kun’s ears and tail at first, but I figured he had his circumstances and we shouldn’t pry.” She frowned to herself. “Which… is rather strange, come to think of it. Usually I would have insisted on knowing what was going on with him, considering his age. I should have at least let the principal know that something was strange.” Sunset nodded. “I was reminded just the other day how far people will go to ignore that which doesn’t fit with their view of how the world works. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that you, Natsumi, and Ayaka dismissed Dog-boy’s circumstances as something you shouldn’t bother about. When things don’t have an easy explanation, people try to dismiss them. “Or at least, they did.” Sunset stared out the window towards the World Tree. “I’m sure none of you missed those colossi last night, or the light show they produced. I was confused about what they did at first, but now I’m sure. It was a brilliant move, so subtle that it’ll be difficult to confirm, and too late to reverse once they do so. It was a mass-subconscious-suggestion effect, a sort of subtle hypnosis. All it did was make everyone who fell under its sway ask themselves one question, and take it seriously: could it be magic?” A round of nods circled the room. “I admit,” Ayaka said, “I’ve been asking that question about a lot of things today. Kotarou-kun. Library Island. The Tournament.” Her eyes narrowed at Sunset. “You. And as ridiculous an answer as it is, ‘it’s all magic’ does indeed make more sense than elaborate and futuristic CGI or other tricks.” “But, who did it?” Fuka asked. “Who made those giants do all that?” “And why did they do it?” Fumika added. Kazumi raised a hand. “I can answer the first one, at least.” All eyes turned to her. “As you know, I was the primary commentator for the Martial Arts Tournament where we saw so many amazing feats of magic. A tournament that was organized and sponsored by…” “CHAO-SAN!” Kazumi nodded at the chorused exclamation. “Chao-san discovered magic a few weeks ago and set all this in motion to reveal it to the world. Satomi, Chachamaru, and Mana all helped her, so they’re lying low right now.” “You’re partly right,” Sunset said, taking back everyone’s attention. “She was lying about having only recently discovered magic so that the teachers here would underestimate her. In truth, Chao is herself from the magical world.” Okay, Sunset. Here comes the hard sell. “Not only that, but she’s also from the future.” The room went silent for a minute before Sakurako ventured to speak. “...eh?” Sunset nodded. “The future. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth. Chao has a time machine. Two of them, actually, and she gave the other to Wildfire. He was using it throughout the first two days of the festival so that he could visit everyone while still doing his job and having some fun. I went with him on one of his trips back through time, as did Ako.” A few sets of eyes turned to Ako at this, and she nodded. “Chao claims that there was some disaster coming in the future, something catastrophic enough to risk time travel to change. Somehow, revealing magic here and now to the world is supposed to prevent that-” “STOP!” Misa held up both hands, shaking her head rapidly. “Just- just stop for a minute! I mean, time travel?! Seriously?!” She lowered her hands and glared at Sunset. “I mean, magic is one thing. With everything that we saw in the tournament, I can’t really dismiss that. But you’re saying that time travel is real?!” “I-it’s true!” Ako exclaimed. “That second night, when Ne- Nagi-san saw my scar before the concert! I ran away. He didn’t find me immediately like I said - I got almost back to the classroom before I finally stopped running. By the time I realized what had happened and that I needed to head back, it was too late. Nagi-san found me and took me back to earlier that afternoon and spent the day with me to help me calm down.” Misa stared at Ako for a moment while Madoka hummed to herself. “But wait, I thought Nichibotsu said that Negi-sensei had the time machine. Why would he give it to his cousin?” Ako’s face went red. “Um, well, that’s…” “Nagi is Wildfire.” Sunset shrugged. “He has magic pills that change your age. Pretty impressive stuff. He thought it would help Ako calm down before the concert.” She rolled her eyes. “Of course, he failed to realize that he’s a grade-A hottie in that form and a gentleman besides. Naturally, Ako couldn’t help falling for him.” Sakurako’s eyes went wide. “And she confessed!” Ako buried her face in her hands as Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, she did. And I had to do damage control to keep Wildfire from doing something stupid like starting a fake long-distance relationship or something.” “That’s why you looked so flabbergasted when you finally finished changing,” Misa mused. “He told you who he was.” “And Nichibotsu followed up,” Madoka added. Akira sighed and shook her head. “So I guess we’re all just accepting that time travel is real, now.” Sunset chuckled again. “Don’t worry. We won’t have to deal with that headache. Apparently, Chao’s time machines only worked while the World Tree was glowing. It was putting off so much magical energy that the machines barely had to use any of their own. Even if we do get more visitors from the future, they’re stuck here until the next time it glows twenty-odd years from now.” Sighs of relief and disappointment filled the room. “So, what about Negi-kun?” Makie asked. Yuna’s eyes went wide. “Hey, yeah! Why isn’t Negi-kun telling us all this?! And where are Asuna and the rest?” “I’m not entirely sure,” Sunset admitted. “Wildfire and his gang were trying to stop Chao from revealing magic. She told me she had a ‘surprise’ set up for them, but nothing more than that. Probably something that’ll keep them occupied for a while.” She smirked. “Good thing for you that I’m here. I should be able to handle his teaching schedule until he gets back or they find a replacement for him.” Fuka glared at Sunset. “And why should we let you be in charge, huh?” “Because with Chao and Satomi absent, I am - without contest - the most intelligent and well-learned person in this room. Because I have a maturity that most of you lack. Because I’m already tutoring four of you anyway. And because I have managed to single-handedly turn Kagurazaka ‘Baka Red’ Asuna’s grades around.” The silence this time was much shorter. “Good point.” ***** Sunset’s lesson was interrupted part-way through by Takamichi. He looked in on the class, surprised to find Sunset teaching, but allowing her to continue. He even asked her to cover the class for a while until they could find another replacement. It had taken a few minutes after he’d left for Sunset to answer a barrage of questions about Takamichi’s status as a mage, but she eventually managed to resume the lesson. Sunset had canceled her tutoring session for the day, telling Ako and the others that she had a prior commitment. Her half-truth had turned to full-truth as soon as she’d exited the school building and found herself surrounded by the reporters she’d promised interviews to after the Martial Arts Tournament. The rest of her day had been spent setting up a schedule of interviews for the rest of the week and starting in on the first round, further detailing her battles in the Tournament and her opinions on the other fights. Sunset had stopped by the library before going home that night, using their computers to check the news. Speculation and hearsay were spreading throughout the globe like wildfire already, and words like “magic” and “mages” were being published without reservation or mockery. Most national governments had come to a virtual standstill as world leaders tried to figure out how to respond to the public’s demands for information. The one thing Sunset didn’t see was the one thing she’d been searching for: information on Chao and what she was up to. The rest of the week proceeded in a similar pattern. With Most of Sunset’s teachers unavailable, she was able to sleep in to a reasonable hour. She went to school, taught the English lesson, gave hours of interviews on what she knew of magic and what Chao had done, checked the news and searched fruitlessly for Chao, and went home to collapse into bed. She made sure not to name any mages, and refused to answer any speculation from the reporters. “For once,” Sunset muttered as she pulled herself up to her loft, “I’m glad I don’t know much about the magical world. Those damn leeches finally ran out of questions for me.” She flopped onto her cot, glad for the weekend. “Still, what the hell is Chao doing? Why hasn’t she come forward yet? She needs to step in soon, or things will get nasty quick.” Already, a few nations had broken the international “no comment” line and officially confirmed or denied the existence of magic. Neither announcement had been well received: the latter was met with outrage at the attempts to cover up what everyone already knew at this point, and the former was met with demands to know why their leaders had kept quiet up to now. No major world power had come forth with a response as of yet - nor had Japan - and the tension was building. If someone didn’t take control of the situation soon, there was no telling what would happen. Sunset’s mind spun endless circles of worry as she was forced to consider one particularly dreadful option: that Chao had had no plan beyond this. It seemed more likely every day that the time-traveling revolutionary had had no intention of following through with her revelation, leaving the world to its own devices while she fled back to the future. If that was the case… Sunset glanced over to the empty bunk-bed before turning over and pulling her blanket over herself. “You’d better get back soon, Wildfire. You and the others.” ***** Fortunately for Sunset’s peace of mind, Negi and the others returned the next Monday. Unfortunately for Negi, she discovered this when Natsumi dragged a dumbstruck child teacher into their classroom. “Negi-kun!” “Long time no see!” “We were so worried about you!” Negi was swarmed in an instant, most of the girls demanding to know where the child teacher had been and to see his magic. Ayaka tried to pull him aside to renew her professions of love, but was quickly interrupted by a flying tackle from the Narutaki twins. Makie grabbed Negi’s arm, asking for a ride on a magic broomstick, and Yuuna and Sakurako jumped in with their own demands. Before too long, most of the girls were piled in an all-out brawl/grope-fest. Sunset sat back, watching with amusement until Akira managed to extract Negi from the mass. She dragged the poor boy out of the room, Sunset sneaking out after them and slamming the door behind her. “Nice extraction,” Sunset said with a smirk, leaning back against the door. “You should go to med school. Become a surgeon.” Akira rolled her eyes and turned back to Negi. “Are you alright, Negi-sensei?” “I-I’m alright. Thank you, Akira-san.” Akira nodded and hesitated, shooting Sunset a quick glance. “Negi-sensei… I still find it hard to believe, even after the school festival and all that Nichi-chan told us. Are you really what they’re calling a mage?” “I’m hurt, Akira.” Sunset held a hand dramatically to her chest. “After all that, you still don’t trust me?” Akira rolled her eyes again. “The existence of magic is undeniable at this point. Whether Negi-sensei himself is a mage or not…” Negi stared back and forth between the two girls in panic. “Wh-what do you mean, ‘undeniable’? Akira-san, Nichibotsu, what happened?!” Akira turned back to Negi, a reprimand in her tone. “That’s what I want to ask you. You, Kagurazaka-san, and the others have been gone all this time. Even Nichi-chan couldn’t tell us where you were.” “A-all this time?! Akira-san, what day is today?!” “It’s June thirtieth.” “Thirtieth?! But the festival ends on the twenty-second! That means…” Negi’s face went pale, his voice faint. “It’s been a week? A whole week since the end of the school festival?” “It was quite a show, that last night.” Sunset chuckled. “I’m sorry you missed it.” Negi turned to Sunset, his face desperate. “Nichibotsu, how far has magic been exposed?” Sunset kicked off the door and stepped forward to stand face-to-face with Negi. “It’s over, Wildfire. The entire world knows about magic. The cat’s out of the bag. The fat lady has sung. All that’s left is for the leaders of the world to officially acknowledge it.” Negi stared from one girl to the other, utterly stunned. Suddenly, he turned and dashed away. “Ah! Negi-sensei!” “I’ll go after him,” Sunset said. “Try to keep the rest of the class from going insane until we get back.” Akira swallowed nervously as Sunset ran after Negi. “Easier said than done.” ***** “So, where are we running?” Sunset was jogging by Negi’s side, using her ki to easily keep pace with him. Negi kept looking around wildly, his expression growing more and more panicked as he saw how many students were watching him. “I need to find Asuna-san and the others!” Negi said. “We need to figure out how to fix this!” “Like I said, it’s too late to fix.” “You don’t know that!” “Negi-sensei!!!” Negi and Sunset skid to a halt, turning to look up the street. Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “Gandolfini. Shouldn’t you be in class?” The tall, dark-skinned university professor sighed as he approached. Sunset had had almost no interaction with him, having only met him at the World Tree plaza where he’d been introduced as a mage teacher. She knew neither what subjects he taught nor how he fought, but observing his gait, Sunset could tell that he was far from inexperienced in combat. “I should be asking you that, Nichibotsu-san. Please return to class. I have business with Negi-sensei.” Sunset frowned and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. “Is that so? I hope your ‘business’ with him isn’t what I think it is.” Negi stared back and forth between them. “N-Nichibotsu? Wh-what-” “I told you, didn’t I? Chao’s plan worked. Magic has been revealed to the world.” Sunset pointed at Gandolfini. “And guess who’s getting the blame for that?” Gandolfini sighed again and looked down. “It’s true. We failed to stop Chao Lingshen. We were utterly defeated. Most of the blame lies with us. However,” his eyes snapped back up to Negi. “You were the one who insisted that we leave Chao Lingshen in your hands!” This time Gandolfini was the one to point in accusation. “You will be held responsible for that, Negi-sensei!”