//------------------------------// // Magic 2: リメンバー // Story: 友達は魔法少女　～ＦＲＩＥＮＤＳＨＩＰ　ＩＳ　ＭＡＧＩＣＡＬ　ＧＩＲＬＳ～ // by MythrilMoth //------------------------------// Twilight sighed as she trudged through the front door of her modest apartment. Stacks of books littered the floor, spillover from the overstuffed bookshelves that took up most of the wall space. The staggering collection of books in the apartment was nothing compared to the book store downstairs, but the selection in her private collection was markedly different from the titles available below. "Tadaima," she called wearily. "Okaeri," a young boy's voice replied. Twilight kicked off her shoes and padded into the living room. A twelve-year-old boy with spiky green hair, dressed in loose canvas shorts and a purple T-shirt that said 'DRAGON' across the front, sat on the sofa, engrossed in playing with his phone. "How was school?" "The classes were okay, but the kids were crazy," Twilight said. "I could hardly eat my lunch because they were all over me asking questions!" "That's school for ya," the boy said. "Glad I don't gotta put up with that." "It'd be good for you, you know," Twilight said. "Yeah, but one of us needs to be looking out for Changelings," the boy said. "Especially after what happened yesterday. How many people did that one kill before you tracked it down?" Twilight sighed. "Four," she admitted. "You're right, Spike." She sat down next to him, taking off her glasses, folding them closed, and setting them on the table. "So, did you find anything today?" "Oh, I found things," Spike said, grinning. "Let me see," Twilight said, grabbing his phone. "Hey!" Twilight swiped through the photos Spike had taken throughout the day. The expression on her face grew increasingly annoyed with each new picture: a fashionable lady in her twenties bending over, an upskirt of a schoolgirl, a poster of a model in a bikini, a cosplayer in a skimpy vinyl outfit... "Spiiiiike," she growled. Spike snatched his phone back from her; it disappeared in a burst of green flame. "So did you make any friends?" he asked. Twilight groaned. "I am not here to make friends!" she asserted. "I don't care what Celestia-sama said, I can do this on my own!" Spike gave her a hurt look. "You're not on your own, Neechan," he said. Twilight rolled her eyes. "I might as well be, if all you care about is taking dirty pictures," she said, poking him in the shoulder. Spike shrugged. "Well, what did you expect? It's not like I can just wander around the city waiting for one of these to do something." In a green flash, a small gilded chest appeared in his hand; the lid opened, revealing five hexagonal gems, each a different color. Magic 2: リメンバー Rainbow Dash sat on a bench in the courtyard of Umadakara High School, an unopened can of apple juice in her hands, rainbow bangs obscuring her eyes. Thunderlane was dead. She'd found out after homeroom. Coach Spitfire had come to class 2-C, pulled her aside, and told her. "They found him in the showers this morning," she had said. "His wrists were slashed and he was lying face-down in the water. Can you think of anything...any reason he might..." "Kill himself?" Rainbow had finished numbly. "No...it doesn't make any sense..." It didn't make any sense. Thunderlane, kill himself? It was crazy! Something worried at the back of her mind. A memory, or a vague impression. Did Thunderlane really die the way they said? Because...because... ...because she had a feeling he'd died in a different way entirely. She sat, thinking about Thunderlane, for hours. Nobody bothered her. They all knew. She opened her juice and took a sip. It was warm. She frowned. She looked up and blinked at the sky. It was dusk. Dusk... Twilight. The new girl. Twilight Sparkle. Something about her had seemed familiar. Thinking about it made Rainbow's brain hurt. It also made her feel uneasy, as though... As though even thinking about her was dangerous, somehow. Thunderlane was dead. The new girl, Twilight Sparkle, was familiar, yet wrong. The way Thunderlane died was wrong. Everything was wrong. Rainbow's head hurt. She drank the rest of the warm juice, then headed home. * * * * * Throughout the morning, Twilight felt the pressure of eyes staring intently at her. At first, she dismissed it as her still being the new girl in class, but as the morning wore on, she snuck glances around between classes, and discovered that a girl with wildly-colored, spiky hair and brilliant rose-hued eyes was staring at her intently. She knew it was the girl who had been attacked by the Changeling. The fact that the girl was staring at her unnerved her. *She shouldn't remember anything about that night...why is she looking at me like that?* At lunch, Twilight was headed for the toilet when the rainbow-haired girl intercepted her. "You're the transfer student, Twilight Sparkle," the girl said. "That's right. I didn't catch your name...?" "Rainbow Dash." "Nice to meet you," Twilight said. She started to walk past Rainbow. "I feel like I know you from somewhere," Rainbow said. Twilight shrugged. "We're both in the same class, so—" "I mean from before that," Rainbow said. "I don't know how, but you seem familiar." "I'm sure I just remind you of somebody you've met," Twilight said. "Sorry, but I've really gotta go to the toilet..." "I think you had something to do with my boyfriend's death," Rainbow said, sliding past Twilight to block the door. Twilight blinked. "Huh?" She frowned. "What are you accusing somebody you've just met of?" "They say Thunderlane killed himself in the locker room," Rainbow said. "Thunderlane would never kill himself. And..." She looked away. "I can't really remember it clearly, but...something happened. I had a date with him that day. I feel like I met him...but something bad happened. And I think you were there." Twilight tilted her head. "Ne, Rainbow-san...I'm sorry to hear about your boyfriend, I really am. And I know you must be angry right now. But I don't think you're thinking straight. And we've never met until I transferred into this school." She gently but firmly pushed Rainbow aside and retreated into the toilet. Rainbow watched the door for a long time, eyes narrowed. * * * * * Twilight's heart hammered in her chest. "The memory spell...did something go wrong?" Taking a calming breath and remembering her original purpose, she headed for one of the stalls. When she emerged, she gave a start and a yelp. Spike was standing there. "SPIKE!" she shrieked. "This is the girls' toilet!" "Yeah, I know," Spike said. "GET OUT!" Twilight yelled. "Okay okay, sheesh. Just wanted to check in," Spike said before vanishing in a flash of green fire. Cheeks burning, Twilight retrieved her handkerchief and headed for the sink. "I swear, if I find out he had his phone out just now..." Spike suddenly appeared in the mirror in front of her. "By the way, there's a really scary girl hanging around outside the toilet." He disappeared again. "GAAAH!" Eye twitching, Twilight finished washing her hands, dried her handkerchief with magic, then gathered her power and teleported to the roof. * * * * * Spike emerged from a rail station toilet, a self-satisfied grin on his face. A faint green aura enveloped him briefly; he joined the crowd of commuters leaving the station, completely unnoticed. Three blocks away loomed Pony City's most renowned landmark and tourist attraction: Kirin Tower, an impressive edifice of glass and steel topped with a giant sculpture, made from iron and painted gloss black, that depicted a chess knight with a unicorn horn. The tower contained five floors of shops and restaurants, four floors of attractions such as the aquarium and wax museum, several floors of offices, two television studios, and an observation deck from which one could look out over the city; on a clear day, the distant Umayama could be viewed in all its majestic glory. The tower also boasted a large number of telestyles, camouflaged transmitter and base arrays for most of the television, radio, and cell providers that serviced the city. If there was action of any kind to be found in Pony City, Kirin Tower would be the best place to start looking. Checking the smooth, round obsidian pendant hanging from his neck, Spike strolled down the street toward the tower. * * * * * Rainbow had finally returned to the classroom at the very end of lunch. Her suspicions about Twilight Sparkle were bolstered by the fact that the girl never emerged from the toilet, seeming bent on avoiding her. When she reached the classroom, though, she was startled to find Twilight already seated at her desk, calmly reading. *What the huh?! How did she—?!* As the day wore on, Rainbow's determination to extract the truth from Twilight—whether there was a truth to extract or not—festered. Although she had a club meeting to attend, as soon as classes ended, she filed out to the shoe lockers with all the members of the go-home club. She watched as Twilight exchanged her uwabaki for her shoes. She hurriedly rushed to her shoe locker and did the same, ignoring the half-dozen notes that had been crammed inside, and followed the transfer student at a discreet distance. One fifteen minute train ride and a six block walk later, Rainbow found herself standing in front of a book store. The fog in her brain churned and swam. Jaw set, she marched forward, pushed open the door, and walked in. The inside was a perfectly ordinary book store, with shelves upon shelves of books arranged neatly by subject matter and a large periodical rack along one wall. A smiling middle-aged woman with long, wavy purple hair shot through with white streaks stood behind the counter. "Irasshaimase!" She took in Rainbow's school uniform and tilted her head. "You must be one of Twilight's classmates!" "Y-yeah," Rainbow affirmed, fidgeting slightly. "That's wonderful," the older woman said. Looking more closely at her, Rainbow could see a definite family resemblance. "She just went upstairs. Follow me," she said, gesturing to the back of the counter. Rainbow followed her through a narrow hallway around a corner that led to a flight of stairs. At the top, Rainbow was let into a comfortable, if small, apartment that was overflowing with books. After removing her shoes, she followed the older woman to the living room, where Twilight Sparkle sat on the sofa, reading. "Twiley-chan!" the older woman called brightly. "Your friend from school is here to visit!" Twilight looked up, alarm on her face. "Okaasan!" she cried. "We can't have visitors here!" "Oh, I'm sure it's fine," Twilight's mother said with a smile. "I'll be downstairs minding the store. Have fun, girls!" With that, she left. Rainbow stood just inside the living room, staring at Twilight. Twilight stood up and crossed her arms. "Why did you follow me home?" she asked. "Because I want answers. And you're not getting away from me this time," Rainbow replied. * * * * * Spike stood on the observation deck of Kirin Tower, leaning against the central column that contained the elevator shafts which ran the entire height of the tower. He'd dropped his Indifference charm long enough to buy a curry bread and a cola, then reapplied it once he'd found a place to people-watch. The Indifference charm was a simple spell that made people fail to notice him. While it wasn't generally necessary in a city this heavily populated, he liked the privacy it afforded him. Especially since he could ogle cute girls all he wanted to without being yelled at or slapped. He watched two college-aged girls, evidently foreigners on a vacation, who were standing at the observation window looking out over the city. One of them was rather plain and modestly dressed, but the other, a gorgeous tanned blonde, had on a tight top, criminally tight cutoff shorts, and spike-heeled sandals, all of which showed off her long, shapely legs and ripe derrier to the fullest effect. Spike watched her butt wiggle as she excitedly pointed things out to her friend. He was so engrossed in that tight, firm ass that he almost missed the flash of emerald fire from his pendant. "Shimatta...! NOW, of all times?!" Quickly finishing his snack and tossing the can and wrapper into a recycling bin, he cast his gaze around, scanning intently for any signs of something that was out of place. Less than a body's width away from him, the elevator chimed. The doors opened, and two men in heavy longcoats and sunglasses stepped out. Spike frowned. *It's the middle of spring. What are they up to?* As soon as the men cleared the elevators, each withdrew a pair of submachine guns from his coat. Someone screamed. Everybody on the observation deck turned, and soon a mass panic ensued, with people screaming and fleeing toward the emergency stairs. "Yare yare..." Spike groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I just had to stumble onto a mess like this..." Sighing, he pushed himself away from the center column, still cloaked by his Indifference charm, and approached the two men, who had begun firing into the ceiling. Silently thanking the hot blonde with the amazing butt, he took a deep breath and blew a billowing cloud of emerald fire. The fire engulfed their weapons, which disappeared. The two men stood there, hands empty, expressions of blank shock on their faces. With a green flash, Spike's casual street attire was replaced by form-fitting black leather pants and boots, a sleeveless bright purple dragonscale vest over an otherwise bare torso, purple metal bracers on his forearms, and a silver headband with an emerald green reflective visor that covered the top half of his face. His combat attire in place, Spike dropped his Indifference charm and stood directly in front of the two gunmen, arms folded. "I don't know what made you two assholes decide to barge into a major tourist attraction waving guns around, but you picked the wrong day! Lie down on the ground now and wait for the police." He cracked his knuckles. "If you don't, you'll be going to the hospital instead." The people who hadn't already fled the observation deck in panic had stopped running and screaming and were now watching with interest. The two gunmen looked at one another, nodded, and faced Spike. Sickly green magic wrapped around them, and the gunmen were replaced by a two-meter-tall stag beetle and an equally tall rhinoceros beetle. Both were gloss black with glowing green eyes, and had warped holes in their legs. "Shit," Spike muttered. "Bit off more than I can chew..." The screaming and stampeding returned in full force. * * * * * Twilight eyed Rainbow warily, forcing herself to remain calm. "What answers do you think I have to give you, Rainbow-san?" she asked. "I've already told you. I don't know you, I never knew your boyfriend, and—" "No, I'm not listening to that again," Rainbow said, stamping a foot. "I know something's wrong!" She took a deep breath, then continued, "Thunderlane wasn't the only student from school to die suddenly this week. The very same day, a girl named Flitter died. She was Thunderlane's best friend." She paused, looking down. "There are a lot of people saying that's why he did what they think he did. But...that doesn't make sense. None of this makes any sense!" Twilight frowned, but said nothing. Rainbow looked up at her, anguish in her eyes. "Something's going on here, and I'm not buying this whole suicide thing! I know something happened that night! I...I remember..." "What do you remember?" Twilight asked calmly. "I remember..." Rainbow began, then shook herself. "I remember that there's something I'm not remembering. Something I can't remember. It's like..." She shook her head. "I try to think and I get a headache, and..." Twilight sighed. "Please sit down, Rainbow-san. I need a minute...before I say anything else to you." With an annoyed look, Rainbow walked over to the sofa and sat. Twilight walked down the hall and turned into another room. * * * * * Twilight leaned against her dresser, took a deep, calming breath, and said, "Communication." Her reflection in the dresser mirror was replaced by a slightly hazy image of a cavernous white marble room. In the center of this room stood a massive ivory desk with a relief of the sun carved into the front, inlaid in gold. Behind this desk, a woman sat upon a high-backed golden chair. She had a thin, pale face with large, soft magenta eyes. Her long hair fanned out behind her, its distinctive ribbons of cerulean, turquoise, blue, and pink gleaming in the brightness of the room. She wore a pristine white dress with gold trim at the bustline, with a matching gold choker adorned with a single rhombus-cut amethyst. "Good afternoon, Twilight Sparkle," the woman said in a melodic voice. "How may I help you?" "Celestia-sama," Twilight said, "I think I have a problem. The other night, when I disposed of that Changeling, I had to use a memory spell on a witness." "A spell you have performed flawlessly in the past," Celestia said calmly. "Well...this time, it failed. She...she recognizes me. She was...very close to the last victim, and doesn't accept that he killed himself. She doesn't remember the events of that night clearly, but there's something there." "Oh dear," Celestia said, concern in her eyes. "It's troubling her quite a bit, isn't it?" "Yes, it is," Twilight said. "I...I don't know what to do. Do I try another memory spell on her, or...?" "No," Celestia said, shaking her head. "Compounding a memory spell on top of one that has already proven faulty will do more harm than good. Also, the very fact that your spell failed at all..." She drummed her fingers on the desk. "At your level, spells don't fail without reason. There is more to this matter than it would seem." "Then...what should I do?" Twilight asked. "She's determined to get answers from me. She followed me home! She's in my living room right now!" "Then there's only one thing you can do, my student," Celestia said. "You must remove the memory spell...and tell her everything." Twilight winced. "I was afraid of that," she said with a sigh. "This may be a blessing in disguise," Celestia said. "I must go now. Take good care of this new friend of yours...she's going to need your support." As Celestia's office faded and was replaced with Twilight's own reflection, Twilight muttered, "Friend? Yeah, right..." * * * * * Spike backed away as the two Changelings advanced on him, hissing menacingly. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he bellowed to the screaming, panicking crowd. "Are you the one?" the stag beetle hissed. "The one who hunts our kind?" "And what if I am?" Spike challenged. "Then we're going to kill you," the rhinoceros beetle said. Spike gulped. "And...and what if I'm not?" "Then we're going to kill you anyway," the stag beetle hissed menacingly. "Yeah, I figured as much," Spike muttered. He extended his hands and a gelatinous yellowish-green ball appeared before him. "Hope you like slime!" he cried, throwing the orb at them. It expanded, engulfing the Changelings in a sticky mass of viscous slime. They screeched as they tried to break free, their limbs moving slowly. "That ought to hold you until I can get help," Spike muttered. Drawing forth every ounce of power he had, he teleported away. * * * * * Rainbow looked up as Twilight walked back into the living room. "Are you ready to tell me what's going on now?" she asked. Twilight sighed. "Yes. But first, there's something I have to do." Before Rainbow could ask, Twilight moved to stand in front of her. "Remember." A flash of magenta light flooded the room, and the fog in Rainbow's mind blew away. Her eyes widened. Thunderlane trying to... And running...and he caught up... And then turned into a monster... She stared at Twilight in shock. "What—?!" Twilight sat down across from her. "You remember everything now?" "I—yeah, I..." Rainbow clutched her head. "I remember, but...it doesn't make any SENSE! What WAS that thing? Why did it look like Thunderlane? What ARE you?" Twilight sighed. "I'm a mahoushoujo," she said. "I came to Pony City to hunt evil creatures called Changelings." "Changelings?" Rainbow asked. "They come from another world," Twilight said. "A realm of dark magic. They feed on the...essence of other living things. The life energy, the soul...all of it. They prefer to target humans because humans have more essence than any other living thing. When they feed, they drain everything that makes their victims unique—everything they are, everything they feel, everything they've ever been—and then they transform into a perfect copy of that person. The person they've copied..." She sighed. "The Changeling disposes of the soulless body in a way that looks like an accident, or suicide, or a random murder." "A suicide...?" Rainbow asked. "Your boyfriend...he was attacked by a Changeling," Twilight said. "It must have gotten to him in the locker room. It fed on him, then made his death look like a suicide...and then it went after you." "Why me?" Rainbow asked. "Changelings are drawn to people close to their victims," Twilight explained. "Once a Changeling has fed, its next victim will be somebody close to the person it just killed. And...the Changelings often exhibit the darkest impulses of their victims. Secret desires, hidden feelings...things the victim probably wasn't even aware of, lurking deep within their heart." Rainbow slumped forward, face pale. "Thunderlane wanted to...?" "Some part of him may have wanted to," Twilight said gently. "It doesn't mean he would have, or that he was even capable of something like that. Like I said, Changelings act on dark impulses that the victim probably didn't even know they had inside them." Twilight took a deep breath. "You said the girl who died was your boyfriend's best friend?" "Since we were little," Rainbow said, nodding. She paused. "Wait. Was she...?" Twilight nodded. "I was at her house, watching them take her body away, a short while before you were attacked. The Changeling probably attacked your boyfriend while I was there." She sighed. "I'm sorry. It's my fault." "It's your fault?" Rainbow asked, tilting her head. "The Changeling got a head start on me. If I hadn't lingered at the murder scene, I might have found it again before it killed your boyfriend." She sighed. "My detection spell has a short range. Less than a hundred meters. I was expecting the Changeling to still be around. I thought it might go after the girl's mother. I should've known better." She stood and bowed deeply to Rainbow. "I'm so sorry. Please..." A ball of green fire exploded in the center of the room, disgorging a young boy with green hair. "NEECHAN!" he bellowed. "Big trouble! TWO Changelings!" Twilight whirled around. "TWO?!" she gasped. Rainbow stared at the boy. "Wh-what the hell?!" "Rainbow-san, this is Spike. Spike, this is Rainbow Dash." Twilight's face had shifted from soft and apologetic to hard and focused. "We'll talk more later. I have to take care of this." She looked at Spike. "Where are they?" "Kirin Tower," Spike said. Twilight bit off a curse. "I can't teleport that far. You're going to have to take me." "I'm out of power," Spike said. Twilight's face reddened. "Are you sure you can't—?" "Neechan, I just immobilized two Changelings and teleported halfway across the city," Spike said. "There are still a lot of people in that tower, and those Changelings will break out of my slime bomb any second. We don't have time!" Twilight sighed. "Alright..." Rainbow watched in curiosity and confusion as Twilight, face flaming, lifted her skirt, flashing her pale lavender panties. A faint green aura surrounded Spike. "I'm gonna need more than that," he said. Twilight groaned. "Spiiiike..." "What's going on?" Rainbow asked. Spike walked over to Twilight and reached out. She flinched away. "You'd better not do anything I'm going to want to kill you for," she warned. "Trust me, Neechan," Spike said. He placed his hand on the bare part of Twilight's thigh and gave it a gentle rub. Twilight squirmed. Rainbow stared, jaw dropping. The aura around Spike grew brighter. He stepped away after almost twenty seconds of rubbing Twilight's thigh. "Okay, I'm good," he said. "Let's go." Still blushing, Twilight let her skirt fall, then grabbed hold of Spike...by the ear, twisting it HARD. "ITE!" Spike hissed. "NEECHAN!" "Just teleport, pervert," Twilight snapped. "Hai, hai..." As a bright green glow engulfed them, Rainbow leapt off the sofa and grabbed hold of Twilight's wrist. The fire swelled to surround her, and her world disappeared in searing emerald fire...