//------------------------------// // 化け物, 第4章 // Story: Be Human: the All-American Girl Sidestories // by Shinzakura //------------------------------// Subaru woke up and stretched. Tonight, instead of doing the usual things, she grinned, it’d be a romantic night. Candlelight dinner, watch a movie, snuggle a bit. Part of her wanted to do the usual, but…well, Daisuke was mortal, after all, and if she wanted a consort for a lifetime she needed to take care of him, let him rest and keep his strength up. Maybe after I have this body permanently I’ll be able to teach him some magic, she thought to herself. That way he can learn how to be immortal and use rejuvenation spells and the two of us can just be together. She giggled girlishly; she’d always wanted to travel outside of Japan and she hadn’t done so since…well, it was a long time. She’d have to discuss with him ideas for a honeymoon though he would probably say Hawaii, she was kinda leaning towards New Zealand. Getting off the hospital bed, she conjured up a mirror. She was starting to look good, now. The proto-hands she’d had were now hands in full. Her legs had changed, formed feet. Her snout was now gone and a separate nose and mouth were there; she could bring back the snout at any time, but…well, certain things were easier with separate body parts. Oh, and turning around she’d noticed the tail had split into three distinct tails. Not perfect, but getting there. She waved her hand and the tails disappeared, just like normal. All in all, she was the picture of human beauty. And in four days, she’d have her normal beauty back. And then she could be – and would be anything for her Daisuke. And then they could discuss the future, whether that was as conqueror of this world, or maybe…well, I wouldn’t mind being just a housewife…. Why are you doing this to me? Subaru heard the voice clearly in her head. I know who you are, Subaru – who you really are. But why me? Subaru looked at the mirror again and there was the soul of the pegasus whose body this used to belong to. Ueda Tsubasa. “Well, I could say this is punishment for theft, but really? It’s nothing personal. If any of your friends had picked it up and tried to use it, I would have taken them instead. And, frankly? You have a lot of issues to work through, missy. I’m just going to give you life as a ghost to do so – being a disembodied spirit isn’t so bad after the first few decades. You’ll get used to it.” But that’s my body! “Listen: there are worse things than having someone else in the driver’s seat okay? How would you like to have your own body turned to stone and a ghoul claiming to be your ghost haunt the place while you’re spiritually imprisoned somewhere else for centuries, huh?” I thought you said it was thousands of years, you liar! Tsubasa said, beating against the inside of the mirror. Give me back my body and let Ryuji-kun go! Subaru laughed heartily at that. “You lovestruck naïve fool, so believing in fairytales and shōjō romance manga. You want to know how you could have gotten his heart form the beginning? There is a reason they call it ‘riding someone like a pony’, after all.” She could feel Tsubasa cringe at that; after all, at least for a few more days, this was still her body. “Now, I’ve got to prepare for a nice romantic evening between me and my lover. So you get back to being a nice potential poltergeist and…go whatever ghosts do, okay?” With that, she waved her hand and made the mirror disappear. Now then, where was I…oh, yes. She summoned a small handbell and rang it; a few minutes later, several staff members of the hospital, thoroughly ensorcelled, walked into the room. “Now, I’ve got an important dinner tonight with my betrothed, so I’d like to keep things quiet, understood?” “Yes, mistress,” they cooed as one. “Dr. Ishikawa, I need someone from the hospital staff to come up with a nice meal. Something suitable for a dinner for two – maybe, Italian? French? I’m not too familiar with either of those countries, so I’ll leave that up to you. Dr. Thompson, I believe you play violin, right – I think that’s what that biwa-like thing is called, anyway – you’ll be playing that tonight. Nurse Kagawa, I see you have some of those fashion magazines, so I need help picking out formal wear for me and Daisuke. I could wear a kimono, but I’d really like to try one of those dinner dress things. Oh, and Nurse Sanwa, I need this place cleaned and made spotless. Also, some furniture, as well. And is it too much to get a large futon? Hospital beds are sturdy enough for sex, but you really can’t snuggle well in them.” “Yes, mistress,” the enthralled staff replied in unison. “Good. Now get going.” And while they all shuffled away, Subaru conjured up that tablet device she’d removed from the orderly she’d killed the other day. She was using it to try to acquaint herself with the modern world; while she had all of Tsubasa’s memories as well as the ones from when she was alive so long ago, there were hundreds of years she had to catch up on. After all, whatever she and Daisuke decided they were going to do next, it wouldn’t do to be so provincial and out of date. And she owed it to him to be as modern and cosmopolitan as possible – a guy like him deserved a proper mate, after all. Sitting in Tsubasa’s bedroom, Trixie looked at the stone instantly and knew it wasn’t a genderstone – it looked like one, but it wasn’t one in the slightest. And I should know; I helped Twilight make the very first one for her niece, she mused. Her mind wandered off to her old friend and former rival; she hadn’t heard from Twilight in a few weeks now and they often kept in touch. Maybe she’s just wrapped up in work again. I did suggest to her that she come back to Vegas and unwind at my place; maybe I can get Sweetie to drag her. Probably kicking, screaming, and “the Guild will fall apart if I’m not at my desk!” Honestly, Twi, you work too much. Heh. Then again, Entertainment Weekly didn’t call me “The Hardest Working Showmare in the Business” for nothing. But that was her chosen profession: as a stage illusionist and performer. This, this called upon true magic and also had the life of an innocent depending on it. Now if I can figure out what this is, I’ll have a clue how to proceed next. “Lulamoon-san?” Trixie turned and saw Yuka standing there, sorrow etched on her face. “Will you be able to save Tsu-chan? I mean, no offense, but….” “You read up on me and found out I’m a Vegas performer, right?” Trixie asked. Yuka nodded and Trixie gave her a smile. “I’m a very powerful unicorn, but I chose not to join the Guild because the stage is my true calling. My friend Twilight Sparkle, the head of the Guild, told me herself that you have to have a passion to be a Guild mage and if I didn’t, I shouldn’t waste my time joining. And she was right – I wouldn’t have been happy. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have the ability. I mean, look at Daigo Yamada. He used to be a pitcher for the Dodgers, and before that, the Nippon Ham Fighters here in Japan, if I remember correctly. But he much preferred to be a sports journalist instead, so he left baseball and now he’s ESPN’s expert on the LA Vikings – that’s the NFL, an entirely different sport. He could go back to baseball at any time and probably be a star again, but he wants to do what makes him happy. And isn’t that what we all want?” Yuka started crying again. “But that’s what Tsu-chan did and look what happened to her! I mean…she made a mistake, but she doesn’t deserve to die!” Trixie reached over and enveloped the younger female in a hug, letting the girl cry her heart out. “I’ll get her back, Yuka-san. I’ll do whatever it takes.” As the girl stopped crying, Trixie looked at her with a comforting smile. “Sometimes we take shortcuts we shouldn’t. Sometimes we’re too impatient and we look for happiness in the wrong way. But happiness isn’t an elixir or a philosopher’s stone or legal contracts with annoying magical critters or….” …or a philosopher’s stone… The thought beat a bell in her head. She let go of the girl immediately, turning on her laptop and gunning over to Encyclopedia Mythica: The philosopher’s stone (Latin: lapis philosophorum) is a legendary human magic artifact said to be capable of amplifying a user’s magic abilities. In the hands of non-magical users, it was said to be an alchemical catalyst capable of transmuting base metals (e.g. lead) into gold or silver via a process known as chrysopoeia. It was also sometimes believed to be able to turn water into an elixir of life, giving the drinker of said elixir perpetual rejuvenation and thus functional immortality. The stone was proven to be a myth when alchemy was disproven as a science, leading towards the basis of modern chemistry. Trixie continued to read through the page until she got to the points she wanted: the stone was made of two mythical elements called carmot and alkahest. Immediately she removed the stone from the case and her horn glowed with magenta energy as she cast a quick spell. Spellfire encircled the object, coursing over each portion of its surface until glowing numbers appeared over portions of the stone. She held those numbers in place while she quickly looked over the notes the Uedas had given regarding their discussion with the dragon mage and zebra shamaness. Finally, she punched up Wikipedia on a different tab in her browser, comparing atomic numbers. He thought this was just a stone of cinnabar and obsidian. But it’s not; the atomic weights are far different. These are carmot and alkahest! This isn’t pony magic we’re dealing with. Holy Celestia on Her Throne… …this is human magic. Trixie put the stone back in its case, completely floored as to what was in her possession. Something that shouldn’t exist. Something that was supposed to have been in humanity’s past since the 7th century. It was now common knowledge that humanity once had magic, but that it had died out long ago, forcing mankind to forge a future based on science alone. And yet, here it was, undeniable. Something that could fundamentally change, once again, everything humanity knew about itself. Something that could change the other magic-using species as well. This was, to use a saying her agent was fond of, “lightning in a bottle”, a disruptive object in the worst way. Yuka noticed Trixie’s reaction immediately. “Did you find something?” “I need to know where she got this from,” Trixie told the Japanese teen in a grave tone. “Did she say anything about where she got this?” Instantly the window to the room exploded as a figure came in. He had just enough time to get his feet on the ground before he thrust his palms at both Yuka and Trixie. The blasts of force that emanated from his palms staggered them back, but nothing else. But it was enough for the man to grab the case holding the philosopher’s stone and dive out the window where he came. As the glass settled, both Yuka and Trixie looked at each other then at the window their assailant used as an entry and escape. “Oh no, you’re not getting away from me!” Trixie shouted, leaping out the window after him. She immediately cast a magic spell and as she hit the ground, leapt forward at an incredible height, following him as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop in an attempt to escape his pursuer. As for Yuka, she watched as the other two leapt from rooftop to rooftop, as if life decided it wanted to take a turn for the weird and go into anime physics. Goro and Kyoko suddenly raced into the room, seeing the shocked Yuka, no sign of Trixie, and the broken window. They then looked out the window just enough to see Trixie leap over a two story home in the distance, in pursuit of some other individual before both disappeared from view. Goro then looked at his wife, who looked back at him in complete puzzlement. Lying on the bed, watching Daisuke’s form, Subaru enjoyed lying there in the dark, just watching. They’d had a wonderful dinner – those Italians, whoever invented the food, really knew how to cook! Then there was the movie – Sakura no Hatsukoi, a beautiful film about a girl and her first love; while Subaru had plenty of romances before, there was something different about this time. And dancing with Daisuke – there was something about this “slow dancing” that she didn’t understand, but it was intimate and beautiful. And he’d complimented her in how she looked in her sapphire blue dinner dress, while he wore something called a “tuxedo”, something that made him look elegant and refi— What is happening to me? she thought, her hands going to her face. When she’d taken over the body the first time, she’d had every plan to destroy Japan, conquer the world and most of all, get revenge on her sister after all these years. Hell, she’d only started fucking Daisuke for her needs and she might as well screw someone handsome. But as each day was going by, the conquering of the world was becoming less important. Destroying Japan was becoming less important. Even getting revenge on her older sister…well that was still important, but Subaru wasn’t as sure she was going to kill her sister, now. What was suddenly becoming important? Being the best girl for Daisuke. Graduating from college and getting a degree. Seeing the world and enjoying it. And settling down with Daisuke and raising a family. She shook her head, her eyes growing wide with fright. Something was happening to her, and she knew what: even as she was claiming this body and killing Tsubasa, she was becoming a replacement for the Japanese teen. She’d corrupted Tsubasa by taking over her body, but…Tsubasa, in turn, had corrupted her by making Subaru a normal Japanese girl via the stolen memories. She looked at Daisuke and suddenly wondered what it would be like to kill him, rend him, tear him apart and soak in his entrails. But if she laid her hand on him in anything other than love, she’d hurt herself far more than he ever would – and she knew it. The only thing she truly wanted to do right now was to snuggle next to him and just play with his hair, and watch him sleep before having to wake him up so he wouldn’t be late for school. She went and looked at the almost entirely red moon and a tear suddenly rolled down her cheek. When this all started over nearly two weeks ago, she saw this as her chance to free herself from the prison that was the philosopher’s stone. Instead, she’d subsumed her way into another prison, the worst kind possible… …a prison she now liked and never wanted to leave. When did my life become an episode of Magical Princess Dancer Mango? Trixie wondered as she bounded from rooftop to rooftop in hot pursuit. Her attacker already had a three-house lead ahead of her and was increasing that distance, simply because he was taller and humans seemed better suited for this strange Tokyo method of pursuit than ponies ever were. That didn’t mean she was going to give up, though. Part of her wanted to throw some magic blasts at him in the hopes of slowing him down, but she saw the episode where Dancer Mango chased down the Gypsy Emperor on rooftops in…wait, it was around here! she thought, noticing a very familiar building to her left, one she’d seen in animated form last week. But magic blasts in the Dancerverse worked very differently than in real life. In the anime franchise, they’d just create harmless heart-shaped sparkles if someone missed. In real life, someone would have a huge hole in their ceiling, and just that only if they were lucky. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have plans up my sleeve. Already she was coming up with an idea. It was probably going to hurt; hopefully him more than her if she played her cards right. But he was gaining ground and she wasn’t sure she could keep this up any longer. They were already a few miles – wait, that’s kilometers, this is a metric country – away from the Ueda house and she had no idea how she was going to get back. She just knew she had to stop him while she had the chance. She closed her eyes and her horn began to flare with the burgundy hue of power – then exploded as her body became a comet. She rocketed forward at a whiplash speed, her body torpedoing into her assailant and crashing both of them into the side of a building, where they hit hard enough to crater its side before falling to the ground, three floors below. Her head screaming, Trixie forced herself back to her hindhooves. Her vision was spinning and she felt like she’d gone a few rounds with a heavyweight boxer, but she couldn’t give up – there was a girl’s life at stake and Trixie couldn’t afford to give up. Ignoring the pain, she flared up her power once more and unleashed a blast of eldritch fire at the assailant, hitting him square and knocking him out… …then watched as his form melted away, becoming a very frightened raccoon, holding onto the case for dear life, but at the same time terrified of her. What the…? “Take one more step towards Ponpoko-kun and I’ll end your life where you stand,” a voice said behind her in harsh tones, then softer ones as she called out, “Come here, Ponpoko-kun. I’ll make sure the bad sorceress doesn’t hurt you.” Trixie turned around and found an old woman standing there, holding a ball of swirling blue energy in her hand. Trixie stared the woman down. With a slashing motion, she said, “So the one behind this. I’m going to give you just once chance to undo what you did, and if not, I’m going to get very Nightmare Moon on your plot.” “Missie, you look to be a strong enough magic-user, but you’re not strong enough to beat me. I’ve got thousands of years of expertise, and no matter how old you might be, I’m betting it’s not enough.” The ball in the woman’s hand grew larger still and brighter. Swirls of fire began to encircle it, giving the appearance of an oversized atom. “I don’t care,” Trixie seethed, her horn powering up. “You hurt an innocent girl and used a monster to possess her – I already know the story. Now this is your last warning: let Ueda Tsubasa go, or I swear I’ll—” “Wait, you work for the Uedas?” the woman said, surprised. “Yes. They requested my assistance and I do not let down those who need my help.” The woman relaxed and cancelled her spell. “I’ve been trying to save the Ueda girl myself, but I needed to get this back.” “Then why did your pet raccoon—” “Tanuki, not a raccoon. And Ponpoko and his family have served me for generations – they’re retainers, not pets.” “Whatever,” Trixie said, thinking it could be a tamed parasprite for all she cared. “Why do you need the philosopher’s stone back?” The woman grinned knowingly. “So you know what it is, then. One of the last surviving artifacts of human magic.” “Yes, yes I do.” There was no use in hiding it, Trixie decided; either this woman was genuine or planning a trap and Trixie wasn’t about to fall for either. The woman sighed. “Look…I need to talk to the Uedas. I’ve been by their café twice, but they’ve been out since their daughter was possessed by my sister’s spirit. And we only have a few days left to save that poor pegasus girl.” “Your sister?” Trixie said, incredulous. The woman nodded. “I told you we need to discuss this with the Uedas. And I think your considerable power might come in handy, Trixie Lulamoon.” Now it was Trixie’s turn to grin. “So you know who I am, then.” “Your reputation – your true one, not the stagecraft of your profession – precedes you, Great and Powerful one. My colleagues have been watching you ever since you arrived on their world.” “Their world? Not yours?” “You might be interested in what I have to say. But let us talk to the Uedas, first. Theirs is the more urgent matter.” It was eleven in the evening when Trixie returned to the Ueda house with the old woman in tow. They recognized her as old Kappabashi-san from the traditional Chinese medicine store. She in turn requested bandages so she could care for the tanuki as well as to call everyone involved. Half an hour later, Riho, Junko, and Yoshida had joined Yuka and the Uedas in the main room of their house. “I think you should start,” Trixie said. “Yes, I should. You all know me as Kappabashi Utane, but that’s a lie. The truth is…” she said, closing her eyes and pausing as her body started to glow and shimmer. When it was done, it left a woman in her twenties with red hair and a body like that made the three teenage girls jealous. But, to their surprise, she had the black-tipped tell-tale ears of a fox – and nine tails behind her. She opened her eyes, revealing beautiful leaf-green eyes. “…history knows me as Kuzu no Ha, the Mother of Sorcerers, the Holy Nine-Tailed Fox. But I was something else before that. One of those things I was, and still am, is a sister. And that’s why I’m here. Your daughter is being possessed by the spirit of my sister – Tamamo no Mae, The Murderer of Emperors, The Demon Nine-Tailed Fox.” The room went silent as the Japanese people in the room were shocked, to say the least. Kuzunoha was fabled as the wife of Abe no Yasuna, the first of the famed onmyōji, Japanese sorcerers who defended the court in Heiankyo – ancient Kyoto – from dozens of threats. And she was the mother of the legendary Abe no Seimei, the greatest sorcerer who ever lived; Yoshida had once participated in an online discussion where dozens of people around the world argued whether Seimei or Merlin was the better mythical sorcerer. But unlike Merlin, Seimei was actually believed to have lived. But wasn’t believed was that his mother, Kuzunoha, wasn’t human, but instead a kitsune, a magical nine-tailed fox. “You’re real?” Yoshida asked. “Well,” Kuzunoha said, “it’s not polite to ask a woman her age, but, yes, the famous Abe clan are my descendants. I’ve long since left them go by and forged my own path, but I remember my husband and son and sometimes wish they could be with me. But life isn’t that lucky.” “But how could you be the sister of Tamamo no Mae?” Riho asked. “She was defeated by your great-grandson Abe no Yasuchika after she murdered the Heian emperor and his court.” “That wasn’t Yasuchika,” she said, sadly. “In truth, she’d murdered him and I had to put down my sister myself. But I guess I should start at the beginning.” She looked at them all and lastly Trixie. “And that beginning starts on what we now call Alter-Earth, in the nation of Inari.” “Wait…you’re from Inari?” Trixie asked. “But that would mean you’ve been on this Earth for longer than the Lost Foal was!” “About six thousand years,” Kuzunoha explained. “And I deserved it, too, as did my sister – punishment for daring to threaten the peace of Queen Faust.” “Queen Faust sent you here?” Trixie suddenly wished she’d paid more attention in ancient history class, because she didn’t remember this being brought up. “I guess history has forgotten us,” Kuzunoha replied softly. “I guess that is my fate. In any case, my sister and I were known as the Bandit Queens of Inari, back when it was just a collection of small fiefdoms under warlords who constantly fought against one another. My sister and I thought that it would be pointless to get involved in that, so we sailed East, over the horizon and to the Northwestern Continent, where we came into contact with the Dominion of Equus.” Trixie suddenly brightened as recollection kicked in. “That was the name of Queen Faust’s realm, the ancient pony homeland before it was separated into the three pony tribes and long before Equestria was founded.” “Exactly. In any case, our followers followed us right to the gates of the ancient Castle of Equus, where we intended to slay Faust and her followers. She’d had a number of incursions onto her territory and her military was all but depleted. We waged a bloody war for weeks against the Equusites and I honestly don’t remember how many good stallions and mares I butchered, who committed no action other than protecting their homes.” The look on Kuzunoha’s face was sad, and she looked truly repentant. “Finally, Faust herself entered the battle and the moment she did, my sister and I thought victory was at hand. More fools we – she then produced a set of weapons so powerful I have rarely seen their like. The Elements of Harmony – she hit us with them as hard as possible, and in that moment, we were defeated and not only had tasted the flavor of bitter defeat, but for the first time knew terror as we were about to be killed by the mare we would have had no problem butchering had the situation been different. “For our crimes, she stripped us of followers – our fellow foxes were arrested and shipped back to Inari. But for us, we were robbed of our magic, with no hope of ever recovering it. She then banished us to another plane of existence, where we would suffer in the most cruel way possible: we would take the form of the dominant creature present and should we ever decide to change back to foxes, we would be mocked by only being able to shapeshift our ears and our nine tails befitting us as Royal Foxes; only once a year would Faust have mercy on us and let us have our true forms for a day. “My sister and I spent time together, learning the ways of humans and bickering about who was more responsible for our loss to Faust. Finally, one day we agreed to go our separate ways. I chose to wander around the world, learn from it and adjust to my new home, this Earth. I didn’t know what my sister did at the time, but I do now and I grieve for what she became. I wanted to learn, repent and truly prove myself worthy of the second chance Faust gave me. But my sister, well – she has many names. ‘Whore of Babylon’, ‘She Who Lays With Many’, and so many others, none of them good. “One of the things that I think had been a loophole of being given a human form was that, robbed of my fox magic, I was now able somehow to learn human magic – and while learning it I learned the truth about human magical arts: humans don’t need magic; they’re better off without it. It’s a corrupting influence, and only the strongest – my son, Merlin of Brittania, and few others throughout history – are able to wield it with any kind of true morality. Otherwise, it makes you a monster – absolute power corrupts absolutely, just as it did my sister, though I didn’t know this at the time. “I had just returned back to Japan, the land where I had first arrived, where I met my husband – he freed me after I’d been captured by a hunter on the day I’d been able to change into a fox, but as a fox I really don’t have access to my human magic, as part of the curse Faust laid on me. I married Yasuna, had a son and once my son was grown I settled down as the priestess of the local shrine.” Noting the confused looks on the faces of the humans, she added, “Yes, I know the legends are different, but I’m telling you what happened. Choose to believe my side of the story or not, history has already made its decision. “In any case, my grandson had just given birth to his child when I’d heard about the court of a Chinese emperor slain in totality by one of his concubines. That she’d committed atrocities, things that would make you blush even in this modern day and age. And that she disappeared like a fox in the night. I didn’t need to guess who it was and my heart sank; though I’d learned my lesson, my beloved sister was up to her old ways. “But it wasn’t until Yasuchika was a grown man with his own wife and children that I was to learn of how bad it would be. The emperor had taken a new concubine, a beautiful young girl from a distant town whose name he could not remember. She called herself Tamamo no Mae and once in the court she wasted no time getting into court intrigue. She slept with anything she could: men and women, though stories wouldn’t tell of those days. She beguiled the emperor himself into listening to her and her only. And while she tried to seduce Yasuchika, though he didn’t know who or what she was he was cautious enough of the danger she presented to be wary around her. I am both proud of him for doing that and disgusted my sister would go so far. But even I didn’t know how far she would go yet. “One day, without warning, she walked through the Rashomon, the Southern Demon Gate of Heiankyo, and proceeded to slaughter anything that she came across and as she kept going she got more sadistic and cruel. Finally, Yasuchika intervened and…and….” At this point, Kuzunoha broke into teary sobs; though this was ancient history for the humans, it was clear it was a wound that had never healed for her. After a few minutes and her tanuki assistant trying to hug her with its small paws, she managed to regain her composure. “I’m sorry. I’ve never gotten over what she did to him and to be honest, I should be glad there was enough of him that I could bury.” The ominousness of that statement made everyone in the room queasy. “But the emperor and his wife she was most cruel. What she did to him was the stuff of nightmares and no horror movie could ever equate what she did. “I couldn’t stand by any longer. I hunted my sister as far as what is now Tochigi and there we waged a magic battle that scarred the earth for decades. Finally, to stop my sister I committed an atrocity of my own, one for which I hope to be forgiven for someday: using my philosopher’s stone, I literally ripped her soul from her body and imprisoned it in the stone. Before she could attempt to return to it, I transmuted her body into rock – that which we now call the Killing Stone, the Sessho-seki. Lastly, I summoned a guardian spirit to watch the stone and to prevent anyone from approaching it. I named the creature Hōji, and until the day he was defeated in battle, he did his duty to me, though due to the corrupted aura my sister’s corpse gave off, it addled his mind until he believed he was the vengeful spirit of my sister. “I then left Japan and traveled the world, never settling down, always watching for any chance my sister would try to free herself from the stone. After a century, she stopped and I was free to return to Japan now and then – the second time, back in the 1400s, is how I met Ponpoko’s ancestor, and how they pledged their eternal loyalty to me. Meanwhile, I traveled around the world and documented the strange – and, if I may be truthful, thankful – disappearance of magic from this world until it was a shadow of itself and only a few scattered objects were left. “I returned to Japan back in 1952 – Japan was just recovering from its loss in the Second World War, so it was incredibly easy to pretend my records were destroyed; the Abes have secret records in case I ever need them – I do keep in touch with a few of my descendants – but far easier just to settle in. Though I have red hair, I could easily claim a gaijin ancestor and if you want to be technical, I am the gaijin ancestor…for the Abes, that is. But I settled down and changed names occasionally until I decided to pretend to be Kappabashi Utane for a few decades. Illusion magic comes in handy, doesn’t it? “I’d actually planned for Kappabashi to pass away next year, after which I was going to move to a new house I bought in Boston. But then this happened and it’s thrown all my plans to the wind.” The room was silent as they digested everything they’d just heard. After a few minutes, Goro spoke. “How could you let my little girl get her hands on such a dangerous object? And how did she activate it?” Kuzunoha’s eyes were hard. “Ueda-san, you may not be aware, but your daughter stole the object from my store. As to how she activated it, well, there should have been no way she really could have, since she’s umajin. But…I failed to consider that since she was raised by humans, in her mind she is one, and thus opened the door for human magic. Had she been raised by her fellow umajin, as Lulamoon-san here was, it would have been impossible, and I’d thought at most she’d spend a few days with a useless trinket before she came back and apologized for her crime. But in mind if not in form, your daughter is human and that was just enough to activate the spell. I never expected that, so I never created a protection against that. If we recover it and save your daughter, that will be an extra dimension I will have to consider in the future.” “Then why are you here? She’s in the hospital and that thing – your sister – is in my daughter’s body!” Kyoko cried. “I understand. But my sister has already activated a spell called Shin Seikatsu no Okite, The Law of New Life – that’s what’s causing the strange Eternal Moon effect the astronomers are wondering about. It’s a lunar spell, and…I’m sure you’re already aware of this, but it requires a lot of tantric magic. Your daughter won’t be a virgin once we recover her body, and I think you should be aware of that.” “She’ll always be one to me,” Yoshida blurted out and everyone stared at him until he realized his Freudian slip and turned bright red. Yuka grinned, clapping her childhood friend on the back. “Hiroshi, you are such an idiot.” Kuzunoha ignored the aside and continued. “But if we interrupt the spell now, we risk either ripping both souls out of the body, in which case your daughter will die, or we rip the wrong soul out of the body, in which case the same thing occurs and Tama gets to start mayhem all over again. No, at this point, the safest way to save your daughter is to wait until Tama triggers the final part of the spell. Once she does, there will be a window of vulnerability where I can use a special spell I created for this eventuality, Sanzugawa no Kanmon, The Barrier of the River Sanzu, one devised to kill my sister once and for all. With her gone, the spell will cancel out and Tsubasa will be returned to her body.” “But are you sure?” Riho asked. “I obviously know nothing about magic, but that seems a little too dangerous to be on hoping the spell will just cancel on its own.” Kuzunoha nodded. “I agree with you, and normally Ponpoko or one of his family would assist me in this. But they’ve been taxed to their limit searching for you all this time and they’re too drained to do so. Which is why I will need to teach you the spell, Lulamoon-san. That way you can banish my sister for once and for all while I create a spell to ensure Tsubasa’s soul remains in her body.” “But if it’s a human magic spell, I can’t use it,” Trixie explained. “I know. Fortunately, we’ve got three days to rewrite the spell so it works with umajin magic.” Trixie paused, uncertain. Disembodied spirit or not, she was being asked to kill someone. And even when corrupted by the so-called Alicorn Amulet, she’d never wanted to do that to Twilight. Embarrass, sure. Humiliate, oh definitely. Run out of town? Check. But kill? Maybe her grandfather, Presto Lulamoon, the Archmagus of the Guild years before Twilight or Trixie studied magic, would have had the courage to do what needed to be done. But Trixie wasn’t a Guild mage – nor was she a killer. She shook her head. “I’m…sorry. I can’t. You’re asking me to take a life. And I don’t think I have the courage to.” Kuzunoha looked at her. “Lulamoon-san, you must. I can’t teach you the other spell – that kind of magic is intricate and I’ll be weaving multiple spells at once. It might even possibly kill me to protect Tsubasa. But it will all be in vain if my sister’s spirit survives.” “You promised me you would bring Tsu-chan back,” Yuka accused. “You promised me!” Trixie looked at their faces, some in tears, some in shock, one or two in anger. And she turned and walked away, feeling for the third time in her life like a failure. “Daisuke?” “Yes, my love,” he said, dully. “Are you mad at me?” she asked. In their bed, for a change, he hadn’t wanted sex. And she didn’t want to give it to him. Something in her – and she knew what it was – told her she should save herself for marriage now. And she listened to that voice. “No, why should I be, my love?” he asked. “Because we didn’t have sex tonight,” she answered. He smiled. “That’s not important. Being with you is,” he replied. To anyone else, that would sound romantic. But to her, she knew it was a lie. She looked into his eyes, seeing how dull they were. He didn’t love her. This was still him in thrall. But she was now hopelessly in love with him, hopelessly wanting to be his. Not just as someone to sleep with, but someone to cuddle with, go on dates with, meet his parents and get their approval to marry him. Spend forever with him, have his children and grow old with…well, that part was going to be a little hard. But her sister had children and grandchildren and a whole line of descendants. She wanted that too. A week ago, the person she was then would have told her she was insane, but now? She would have laughed in that person’s face. She was tired of being Tamamo no Mae. For the first time in her life, she really wanted to be just Subaru. “My Subaru, is something wrong?” he asked, looking at her with those glassy eyes and vapid expression. “No. I just…well, you have to get up to go to school. And I’m going to be unavailable for the next few days. But afterwards, we’ll be together forever. And I want to meet your family and your friends. And we’ll go to school together, okay? I want to see you win the Kōshien.” “I’ll do it for you,” he said in monotone. She gave him a smile, then kissed him gently and softly teleported him back to his bedroom so he could get ready for the school day. And once she did, she started to cry. She already missed him at her side. Had this been the old days of Heiankyo, he would be a man and she could just settle down and be his wife – Kuzu’s husband was just 14 when they married, after all. But in this modern, sterile world, he wouldn’t be a man until he was 20 – an old man by the standards of those long bygone days. She got up and felt her fox ears and noted her nine tails, her transformation now complete. The body was now hers, and in three days, she could exorcise its former owner out of it. Tsubasa would be alone, disembodied, for all time until she either moved on to the afterlife or became a vengeful spirit as Tamamo no Mae did. “I’m so sorry, Tsubasa,” she whispered. “I’m sorry this had to happen to you. You don’t deserve it.” Then give me back my body! Tsubasa’s voice said from somewhere beyond. “I can’t. It’s too late to stop now. You can’t feel my tears, can you?” No, I can’t. Are you crying? “Yes, yes I am. And I’m crying because I hurt you and I can’t take it back. And you can’t feel me crying, because I now own this body. It’s not yours anymore. And in three days, the spell I preset will go off and you’ll be gone. But I want you to know…I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. And I don’t deserve your forgiveness, I can’t even ask for that.” I…I don’t know what to say. I miss my parents and my friends, and…I want to see them again! There was a hint of anger in that last part of the thought. “No! Don’t do that!” Subaru cried. “Don’t give into anger. All you’ll do is become a vengeful spirit like I did, and make the same mistakes I have. I…I don’t want that for you.” I see. Could you create a new body for me then? “I could try, but…it’s the excorism spell. That will go off before I can create a body for you and there won’t be a soul to put in the body. And since I set the spell to go off no matter what, I can’t cancel it.” Subaru slumped against the wall, hating herself for what she’d done. Don’t cry, Tsubasa told her. I’m going to die now, but just…don’t cry. I…I forgive you. You’ve killed me and…I forgive you. “NO!” Subaru screamed. “Don’t! I don’t deserve it!” All the same, it’s the right thing to do. And if I’m going to die, I don’t want to die with regrets and become a yōkai. Subaru just kept crying, couldn’t stop crying. Tsubasa, in the end was a better person than the nine-tailed fox would ever be. And now it was too late to stop what Subaru had done. Tamamo no Mae had won this latest battle. And she’d hate herself forever for that victory. Sitting on top of the Ueda house, Trixie was casting the strongest communications spell she could. “Twilight, if you’re awake I need to talk to you. Please.” The answer she got was one she hadn’t expected. “Trixie, dear, is that you? This is Rarity. How have you been?” Rarity? “Rarity, what are you doing on Twilight’s magical call channel?” Magical call channels were something that only Guild members possessed; Trixie wasn’t supposed to have one, but as strong as Trixie was, Twilight authorized one for her “just in case.” But she didn’t know Rarity had one. “It’s a bit complicated to explain, dear, but the long and the short of it is that I’m handling all of Twilight’s ‘mundane’ issues, as it were, while she tackles our big problem.” Mundane issues? Why isn’t the Guild…? “Rarity, is everything okay?” Rarity explained everything, from Nightmare Moon and her return to the second battle between them and the demonic alicorn, and that this time they were on the losing side. “So I’ve been trying to use what little magic I have to handle her current concerns for her while she powers the spell that keeps us alive. I know this is a dreadful thing to say, but with my sister incapacitated, you are now the strongest unicorn standing, Trixie. And if things don’t get better, you’ll be the strongest unicorn, period.” “No….” she breathed. She never wanted that. Tears started to burn in her eyes. Years ago, when she was overproud and stupid she would have loved every bit of Rarity’s statement but now? She’d throw every bit of her magic away if it would heal them. “Don’t say that, Rarity. You four will stand strong in no time flat. Everypony’s rooting for you, including me.” “Thank you, Trixie. It means a lot to me that you would say that. But I gather you wanted to talk to Twilight for some reason and she’s asleep currently. Is there anything I can do to assist you?” “I need some advice.” Trixie then explained everything on her end, in some cases having to re-explain or dumb down things as Rarity wasn’t even remotely versed in advanced spellcraft. She then finished it up with, “And so I’m at an impasse. I either kill somebody or someone innocent dies.” “I see. Well, it might interest you to know that we went in this last time to fight Nightmare Moon with the intention of killing her.” Something sounded odd about that. Twilight wasn’t the kind that…none of the Bearers were the kind to do so. “Why? That’s never been your modus operandi before.” “I know. And before we went into battle the six of us discussed it. Twilight was against it, as was I. Applejack was for it, as was Rainbow and Fluttershy. Pinkie, of course, acted as if she completely missed the point – we’ve always loved that about her.” “Wait – Fluttershy was for killing Nightmare Moon?” “Trixie, dear, you have to understand how much parenthood has changed her – or any of us. Applejack was for it for the same reason. But I thought it would only make things worse for my two foals.” Trixie knew the story as to why Rarity only claimed to have two foals when she’d had three, but now was not the time to push it. “Pinkie, of course, is as random as always, mother or no.” “I’m sorry, Rarity. If you’re trying to make a point, I’m not getting it.” “I was rambling there for a second, dear; my apologies. In any case, all I can say is that you need to do what you feel is right, Trixie. We are not a species that is prone to fighting; we come from prey animals used to running from our problems. And yet there are some problems you can never run from.” Again, the irony in Rarity’s words was up front and personal, but Trixie knew the Bearer of Generosity had probably been pestered on that several times. “Well, you’ve given me much to think about, Rarity. Thanks for your time, take care and tell Twilight if she doesn’t get you all out of there soon, I’m going to start doubting in her ability to be better than me.” It was an empty boast; Twilight was much stronger than her even in all the growth in her skills Trixie had accomplished, but the friendly teasing would always remain. “I’ll be sure to tell her that. Do take care of yourself, dear and I hope to see you soon. Ta-ta!” The call ended and Trixie felt emptier than ever. She’d counted on the Bearers of the Elements themselves, the Knights Elemental, her friends, to give her advice, only to find they had been in a similar situation and just as confused as she. And it didn’t solve her dilemma, not one bit. But in the end – in three days, I’ll still be alive. And Ueda Tsubasa won’t. And a monster will be born in her stead. Her own voice echoed in her mind, followed closely by Twilight’s words to her: “Trixie, don’t join if you don’t have the passion for it. I don’t want to see you suffering at something you weren’t made for.” If I act, I’ll kill a monster. But if I don’t act, an innocent girl will die. This is a job for a Guild mage, a strong one – one like you, or Sweetie Belle, or that Star Swirl kid. Or maybe your fellow knights, or your younger dragon brother. But not me. I’m just a performer. I’m not strong enough. But sometimes a mare’s gotta do what a mare’s gotta do. With that, she leapt off the roof, landing in front of the house. Not too surprisingly, Kuzunoha was standing there. And if it was hard for Trixie to comprehend, how much worse would it be for the immortal nine-tailed fox? “So you’ve come to a final decision,” Kuzunoha said, not a question. The azure unicorn nodded. “I came here because I was needed – and because I’m the strongest unicorn standing. And there’s an innocent girl that needs me. So all I have to ask is this: where do we start?”