Pinkie hummed lightly to herself as she skipped home. Her secret was out, she had new friends, and now she was a mahoushoujo!
She opened the front door, stepped out of her shoes, walked into the living room...
...and saw her parents and sisters staring stonily at her.
Her hair deflated. "Uh-oh."
Magic 5: ウィッチ
Rainbow followed Twilight into the bookstore, which was mercifully empty except for Twilight's mother. As soon as she saw them, she locked the register, beckoned for them to follow her, and headed into the back. Twilight flipped the open sign to 'closed', locked the door, and followed, Rainbow behind her.
"Are we in trouble?" Rainbow whispered.
"I don't think so," Twilight replied, "but what just happened is pretty serious."
Once they were upstairs in the apartment, Twilight's mother turned on the television. Video of the battle at the park was playing out, with news anchors commenting over it.
"Oh crap," Rainbow muttered. "I didn't notice the cameras."
"Neither did I," Twilight admitted. "With everything else happening..."
"You both lucked out," Twilight's mother said. "Everyone thinks the whole thing was staged. Special effects. It helps that the Changeling decided to impersonate a Net Idol."
"Hey...don't Changelings kill the people they impersonate?" Rainbow asked. "So how did—"
"That was no ordinary Changeling," a new voice intruded. Twilight and Rainbow whirled around.
Celestia stood behind them, arms folded and face unreadable.
"Celestia-sama!" Twilight cried.
Twilight's mother bowed. "Welcome to our humble home, Great Sage."
Celestia nodded to her. "A pleasure, Twilight Velvet." She studied the two girls before her. "Everything that happened today...I've never seen such a bizarre string of luck. If that Changeling had chosen to impersonate anyone else..."
"Yeah...it's lucky for us we met Pinkie last night and made friends with her," Rainbow said. "Hey, wait...that means we're friends with somebody famous! Sorta."
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "After what happened this afternoon, the two of you are going to attract far more attention than I'm comfortable with."
Twilight visibly wilted. "Celestia-sama...I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault," Celestia said. "What happened this afternoon was unavoidable." She walked over to the sofa and sat primly, crossing her legs. "Of more importance is the Changeling which was summoned. As I said, that was no ordinary Changeling."
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"Now that you mention it," Rainbow said, "she was a whole lot less...well...buggy than the others."
"That's correct," Celestia said. "Most Changelings are simple, instinctual creatures, barely capable of mimicking intelligence, driven by hunger. The creature you fought today was a higher order of Changeling. Everything I know of these creatures suggests that there are less than a dozen of this type of Changeling at any given time. They help the Queen keep the swarm in line." She frowned. "It worries me that our unknown foe is capable of summoning such a dangerous creature." She looked at the two girls. "Please...be careful. This situation may be more dangerous than even I anticipated."
"Of course, Celestia-sama."
"The remaining three Elements of Harmony...you must find those worthy of bearing them quickly. You will need all the help you can get." Celestia began to shine as brightly as the sun, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. When the light faded, she was gone.
Velvet looked at the two girls. "So...tea?" she asked.
* * * * *
"Explain yourself, young lady."
Pinkie looked at her father, whose arms were folded. His heavy grey sideburns were caked with rock dust, as usual, and he had a rough, slender shard of rock in his mouth. Her mother sat beside him, hair tied up in a severe bun, glowering disapprovingly over her pince-nez spectacles. Her younger twin sisters were frowning at her. Maud's expression was unreadable.
"What were you doing prancing around in some ridiculous outfit, playing some silly make-believe game in the middle of the park? Well?"
Pinkie flinched. All her life, her father had disapproved of everything she ever wanted to do. She'd never had friends because of him, because of her sisters, because everything about her family was boring. Her entire life had been nothing but dull, dreary grey. Even the fact that she had pink hair instead of the shades of grey the rest of the family had seemed to annoy him.
The only thing she'd ever had, the one joy in her dreary life, was her secret second life as Smile. She dreaded the day her family...her father...would learn the truth. She dreaded having that one thing taken away from her.
"I raised you to be a responsible, down-to-earth girl. I didn't raise some silly, flighty—"
"That's enough, Papa."
Everyone blinked. As one, the Pies turned to stare at Maud, who had fixed her father with a glare as hard as granite.
"Excuse me?" Papa Pie asked.
"Let Pinkie do whatever she wants," Maud said. "You have four daughters. Three of us want to take over the family business. Isn't that enough? Pinkie doesn't care about rocks. Just...let her do what makes her happy."
Maud looked at Pinkie...and smiled.
Papa blinked rapidly. Mama's pince-nez fell to her lap. The twins stared at Maud in shock.
"My Reveal spell...it's supposed to reveal the true nature of whatever I cast it on. I only use it to unmask Changelings, but...I guess in this case, it revealed Pie-san's true nature. It revealed that she's really the Net Idol Smile."
My true nature...
Pinkie looked at her father, staring defiantly into his eyes. "Papa...I love you, and I love Mama, and I love my sisters. But I don't love rocks. I love making people happy. Singing, dancing, or just...just being myself. I just want to make people smile. And...that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to be me, and do what I want to do."
Papa was silent for a long time.
"Did I mention I've made two million yen so far as a Net Idol?"
Every jaw dropped.
"...well dang," Papa said. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Okay...you win."
"Yay!" Pinkie's hair exploded into a poofy cotton candy mess, and she jumped up and down. "I love you, Papa!"
Papa grunted. "Well, I've got things to do. Come along, girls...I'll drive you to the shop..."
Once Papa and the twins had left, Pinkie headed up to her room. She flopped back on her bed, letting out a happy sigh.
A moment later, her door opened. She looked up to see Maud standing in the doorway. "Oneesan...thank you for standing up for me," Pinkie said.
"Papa can be a little hard-headed," Maud said. "I just want to see you live your own life and be happy." She tilted her head. "So were those the girls you had yakiniku with last night?"
"Yeah, they—" Pinkie's eyes widened. "Wait, how did you—?"
Maud smirked and walked away, whistling one of Smile's songs.
Pinkie stared after her, jaw agape. "Oneesan..."
* * * * *
Rainbow stayed over at Twilight's place again. Her dad had seen the news report; when she'd spoken to him on the phone, he'd laughed his ass off. "And here I thought you were only interested in sports," he'd said. "Never thought I'd see you flying around on wires wearing some silly costume!"
When they arrived at school, there was a sizeable crowd gathered in the courtyard. "Uhh, girls? A little help here?" Pinkie called to them in a strained voice, waving frantically. All around her, students were screaming and squealing and trying to get to her. When they saw Twilight and Rainbow, some of the crowd broke away and surrounded them.
"Oh crap," Rainbow said, eyes wide.
"This is bad," Twilight muttered, retreating a half step from the advancing crowd. The students were clamoring excitedly; she could barely make out anything they were saying among the sea of screams and shouts.
"What's your idol name?" someone asked.
"Do you sing?"
"Weren't you just saying you thought Net Idols were dumb?" the spearmint-haired girl from their class said to Rainbow.
"Mou, Lyra-chan!" the wall-eyed blond said, tugging on the former's sleeve. "It's called a cover story! Leave Rainbow-chan alone!"
"Hai, minna-san!" a high, clear voice rang through the crowd. "You've bothered these girls enough, it's time for everyone to get to class!"
The crowd showed no signs of parting.
"I said..."
Rainbow, Pinkie, and Twilight could only stare as bodies were tossed left and right.
"GET TO CLASS!"
The crowd of students quickly parted, revealing a tall girl with incredibly long legs, the bustline of a bikini model, pale, smooth skin, perfectly manicured, polished nails, and long, vibrant purple hair, styled in flowing waves and elegant curls. The skirt of her uniform was almost obscenely short, and she wore a tasteful amount of makeup, with soft violet eyeshadow and thick mascara that accentuated her sapphire eyes. Her chest heaved; from her stance, it was clear that she had just bodily thrown a boy across the yard. She stood, smoothing her skirt and straightening her blouse, and glared around at the remaining students. They wilted under her glare and quickly shuffled toward the building.
"Whoa," Rainbow said.
Twilight walked up to the girl and bowed. "Thank you very much," she said.
The girl examined her with a haughty gaze. "You are new here, are you not?"
"Hai," Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, from Class 2-C..."
"That costume you were wearing on television was trashy and ridiculous," the tall girl said. "If you want something more fashionable, see me after school. I'll be in the Fashion Club room." She turned and marched away.
Pinkie skipped over to Twilight as Rainbow walked up alongside her.
"Trashy and ridiculous?" Twilight asked, frowning.
"Well...it IS kinda...umm..." Pinkie said. "Oh, not that I'm judging or anything! I mean I've worn some pretty silly stuff on the Net..."
"Who was that?" Twilight asked, ignoring Pinkie.
"That was Rarity-senpai," Rainbow said. "She's the president of the Fashion Club and captain of the Judo Club." She shuddered. "I'd heard she could be scary, but I've never actually seen it before."
"We'd better get to class," Pinkie said, looking around nervously at the thrown students who were getting up. "Meet you girls on the roof for lunch?"
"If your adoring fans don't tear you apart first," Rainbow said.
* * * * *
When Twilight and Rainbow reached their class, the questioning resumed. Even the appearance of Miss Cheerilee didn't do much to settle things down, mostly because she was as curious as everybody else. Twilight and Rainbow resigned themselves to having to spend the rest of the day pretending to be junior Net Idols and Smile's new sidekicks.
Pinkie fared worse, predictably. Not only did she face questions, squealing fans, and far less savory attention from every angle, she endured a full-force death glare from her dour, sullen homeroom teacher, Mr. Doodle. He seemed to take it as a personal affront that one of his homeroom students was a Net Idol.
When lunch came around, the three girls tried to have lunch on the roof, only to be swarmed at the roof access stairs. They spent several minutes frantically trying to evade pursuit; at length, they were forced to retreat into a restroom, from which Twilight teleported them to an empty, disused classroom on the first floor. It was dusty and stifling, but it was preferable to being mobbed.
"Funny, I didn't think revealing my identity would be this unsmile," Pinkie said. "They're crazy!"
"Eh, it'll probably die down," Rainbow said. "Once they get used to the idea, they'll leave us alone."
"Do I really look trashy and ridiculous as a mahoushoujo?" Twilight asked, frowning at her pickle.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Does it really matter? I mean, yesterday was a fluke, right? Usually only gross bug monsters are gonna see us in those outfits."
"Maybe if your costume had a skirt," Pinkie mused. "Then it wouldn't look so dominatrixy."
Twilight turned red. "I do not look like a dominatrix!" she cried. "...do I?"
"Welllll..."
Lunch was over far too soon for the three girls' liking, and they were forced to rejoin the other students. The rest of the day was almost as hectic as the morning had been, and all three were relieved when the final bell rang.
It took considerable effort to evade the screaming throngs of students, but Twilight and Rainbow managed to join up with Pinkie, and the three of them gave their fans the slip with some assistance from Spike, who showed up right at the final bell. Within minutes, they were outside the bookstore.
Twilight Velvet smiled at the three of them as they walked in. "You must be Twiley-chan's new friend!" she said to Pinkie.
Pinkie giggled. "Yep, that's me!"
"Come on upstairs," Twilight said. "I need to fill you in on a few things."
"Oooh, goodie!" Pinkie said happily. "We didn't really get to talk about why we're mahoushoujo and all that stuff yesterday..."
* * * * *
"Irasshaimase!" Twilight Velvet called as the bell over the door jingled. Two boys, somewhat younger than her daughter, entered. The shorter of the two had thick, heavy eyebrows, a sloping forehead, beady black eyes, and short, messy light brown hair. His skin had an unhealthy gray pallor, and he wore a black T-shirt and jeans. The other, taller boy had tanned skin, freckles, and dull, stupid eyes. He wore his short seafoam-green hair in a bowl cut with a massive cowlick at the back, and wore a green sweater-vest and khakis.
The shorter boy walked up to the counter. "Are you Twilight Velvet choki?" he asked in a raspy voice.
"Hai," she replied.
The short boy nodded to his companion, who snapped his fingers. A thick, foul mist filled the shop.
"Now...scream as loud as you can noso," the tall boy said, pulling a roll of duct tape out of his sweater.
* * * * *
Twilight was just setting out snacks in the living room when her mother screamed downstairs. The three girls looked around at one another and bolted for the door. In the downstairs hall, they collided with Spike. "What's going on?" Twilight asked frantically.
"What's that smell?" Rainbow asked, coughing and waving a hand in front of her face.
"It's Chaos Mist," Spike said, covering his mouth with his shirt.
"Chaos Mist?!" Twilight gasped. "But...that's...!"
"Impossible, I know!" Spike said. "The only place they could've gotten it is..."
"...the secure vault on Sun Island," Twilight finished. "This is bad..."
"What's Chaos Mist?" Rainbow asked.
"A weapon from an ancient war," Twilight said. "It disrupts magic."
"Meaning your mom is defenseless," Spike said. "My powers won't be very effective in this, Twilight can't use magic at all, and you girls can't transform."
"Crap!" Rainbow said, pushing past Spike and rushing out into the mist, coughing.
"Rainbow-san!" Twilight cried, raising a hand, then letting it fall to her side. "Okaasan..." Shaking her head, she followed Rainbow into the bookstore, Pinkie hot on her heels. Spike followed a moment later.
Two boys stood in the doorway, holding a bound Velvet between them. Her eyes were wide and pleading as she saw her daughter.
"Let her go!" Rainbow cried.
"Not so fast choki," the shorter boy said. He pulled a large, wicked knife out of his pocket. "You don't wanna do anything hasty choki."
"Yeah, especially when you can't use magic noso," the other boy said.
"What do you want?" Twilight demanded. "How do you know who we are? How do you have Chaos Mist?"
"Ehh...we're just here to deliver a message noso," the taller boy said. "If you want to see your mother again, come to the abandoned Kuregata Factory at sunset."
"Don't be late choki," the other boy said.
"Wait—!" Twilight cried.
A swirling black vortex opened behind the two boys, and they stepped back into it. Before any of the girls or Spike could react, the boys and Twilight Velvet were gone, and the vortex had vanished.
Twilight sank to her knees. "Okaasan..."
Pinkie knelt beside her and placed her hands on Twilight's shoulders. "We'll get her back," she said.
"It's a half hour until sunset," Rainbow said. "We'd better hurry."
Twilight stood and nodded. "We'll have to take the train," she said. "Not even Spike can teleport after being exposed to Chaos Mist."
"What about..." Pinkie began. "Will we...?"
"The effects should wear off by the time we get there," Twilight said shakily.
"Then we'd best get out of here now," Rainbow said, headed for the door. Twilight and Pinkie followed.
"I'll stay here and try to do something about this mist," Spike said. "Then I'll call Celestia-sama."
"Good idea," Twilight said.
"Good luck!" Spike called at their retreating backs.
* * * * *
The sun was just beginning to set when the girls stepped off the train in a part of Pony City none of them had ever set foot in. "We'd better hurry," Twilight said.
Rainbow looked at her phone. "It's two blocks that way."
After a two-block walk, they came upon the Kuregata Factory: a large industrial complex that had definitely seen better days. Its chain-link fence was rusted and torn in places, many of its grimy windows were cracked and broken or boarded up, and faded graffiti was spray-painted all over its walls.
"Creepy place," Twilight said nervously.
"Yeah, it was condemned about six years ago," Rainbow said. "There was like, a meth lab or something. I don't really remember it too well."
"Perfect place for an evil lair," Pinkie said.
"Stay alert, girls," Twilight said as she pulled out her henshin locket. The others followed suit; the three girls transformed, then entered the factory.
The inside was empty, filthy, and quiet. The dull, dusty windows strained the dull, orange-reddish light, bathing the factory floor in a blood-red glow.
"This place is really unsmile," Pinkie said, looking around nervously.
"You'd think the bad guys could at least tidy up a bit," Rainbow said.
"Welcome, Twilight Sparkle," a voice called from all around them. "So good of you to accept my invitation."
Twilight's eyes widened and her face went pale. "No..." she breathed. "It...it can't be...!"
The click of heels echoed through the cavernous factory. With a series of thunderous snaps, the factory lights turned on, shedding a powerful halogen glow on the dusty floor, revealing a girl approximately Twilight's age. She was slightly taller than Twilight, with tanned skin and a beautiful but cruel face with dark, malicious teal eyes. Gleaming copper hair shot through with glistening gold streaks cascaded down her back. She wore glossy knee-high black leather boots with stiletto heels, a dangerously short orange pleather miniskirt with a double yellow and purple stripe along the right hip, shoulder-length black leather gloves, and a black leather cape which left her shoulders bare, but covered the top halves of her ample breasts; the cape was fastened across her otherwise-bare torso with thin gold chains secured by a clasp in the shape of a two-tone red and gold sun.
"It's been a very long time," the girl said.
"Now that's a trashy outfit," Pinkie commented.
"Who's THIS skank?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight stared, face pale. "Sunset Shimmer," she whispered in shock.
Sunset Shimmer folded her arms, a cold smirk on her face. "Hello, cousin," she said. "Surprised to see me? I thought for certain the Great Sun Bitch sent you to hunt me down."
Twilight's eyes hardened. In a flash, she was in front of Sunset; her baton had transformed into a rapier, and she had impaled Sunset through a kidney.
Sunset rolled her eyes and teleported three paces to the left. Pinkie and Rainbow watched in stunned silence as the bleeding wound sealed itself up with a burst of crimson light.
"That wasn't very nice, Twilight," Sunset said, examining her fingernails.
"Where's my mother?!" Twilight snarled.
Sunset rolled her eyes again. "Oh, please," she said. "I just needed to get your attention. I wouldn't dream of hurting Auntie Velvet."
"You expect me to believe that after you killed Aunt Satin?"
"I didn't kill my dear mother," Sunset said. "I sacrificed her. It was necessary. I needed her power."
Rainbow's jaw dropped. "Whoa. You killed your own mother?!"
"That's the most unsmile thing I've ever heard!" Pinkie said.
Twilight's jaw hardened. "Sunset Shimmer murdered her own mother and drank every drop of her blood," she said.
Pinkie's eyes bugged out. "Ewww! You mean she's a vampire?"
"No...it was part of a ritual to steal her mother's magical power," Twilight said. "She wanted to become immortal."
"So...she's a vampire," Rainbow said.
Ignoring her, Twilight continued, "Celestia-sama ordered her imprisoned, but she escaped. She fled Sun Island, and Celestia-sama was never able to track her. That was two years ago." She leveled her rapier at Sunset. "In the name of the Sun, I'm going to punish you for your crimes and deliver you to Celestia-sama!"
"Oh, I'm going to enjoy killing you and your pathetic little friends..." Sunset smiled darkly and extended her right arm out to her side. In a flash of crimson fire, a scythe with a black lacquered shaft and a two-tone copper and gold blade appeared. She grabbed it and swung it in a wide arc in front of her. "Prepare to DIE, Twilight Sparkle!"
* * * * *
Spike hauled the large, heavy vacuum cleaner out of the closet in the back of the shop, found the heavy-duty extension cord, and plugged it in. Assembling the hose, he dragged the vacuum into the center of the store and turned it on, holding the end of the nozzle up into the air. Slowly, the thick, foul mist began to thin slightly as it was drawn towards the vacuum.
Frowning, he threw open the front door, then headed back into the supply closet and dragged out a large box fan, which he plugged in behind the counter and pointed it at the door.
Several minutes later, the combined efforts of the box fan and the vacuum had mostly dispelled the Chaos Mist.
Nodding with satisfaction, he raced upstairs, threw open the door to Twilight's bedroom, and rifled through her hamper, hauling out a double handful of bras and panties. He held them up to his nose and inhaled deeply, rubbing his cheek against them, then dropped them back in the hamper and headed downstairs, stopping just short of the counter. He took a deep breath and exhaled a broad, pale fan of emerald flames that spread to every corner of the shop.
Once he stopped for breath, the shop was clear of Chaos Mist; fortunately for him, nothing was burned. "Lucky for me Twilight forgot to do her laundry," he muttered. Turning off the vacuum and the fan and closing the door, he headed back upstairs and returned to Twilight's room. "Communication!"
A dimly-lit bedroom with a large, ornate four-poster canopy bed draped in exquisite white satin sheets faded into view. Celestia walked past the bed in her underwear.
"Celestia-sama!" Spike called.
Celestia turned to the mirror and yelped, covering herself. "Gah! SPIKE!"
"Sorry!" Spike said. "But this is important! Aunt Velvet was kidnapped by the enemy!"
Celestia gasped. She made a gesture, quickly covering herself in a flowing silk nightgown. "This is terrible! Is my student—"
"On her way," Spike said. "She was called out. Her and the others." He swallowed. "The guys who took Aunt Velvet used Chaos Mist."
Celestia inhaled sharply. "Chaos Mist? But..." She frowned. "There hasn't been a break-in down in the vaults in...years...where could they have—"
"I don't know, but I just spent the last fifteen minutes cleaning up after them," Spike said. "The ones who took Aunt Velvet were kids about my age, two boys. I don't think they're the ones behind all the Changelings, though." He frowned. "Celestia-sama, couldn't you—"
"Even if I could leave Sun Island," Celestia said, "I can't do anything once the sun sets. I can't even observe the situation." She sighed. "If only..." She shook her head. "We're just going to have to trust that Twilight Sparkle and the others can handle the situation."
Spike sighed. "Yeah." He frowned. "The Chaos Mist thing bothers me. Are you sure—"
"The God of Chaos remains imprisoned within the Kokoroseki," Celestia said firmly. "The only source of Chaos Mist is the vaults here on Sun Island."
Spike nodded. "Then whoever we're dealing with—"
"—is from Sun Island," Celestia said grimly. "Have Twilight Sparkle contact me at sunrise." With that, her bedroom faded from the mirror.
Spike sighed. "If she's still..."
In a flash, Spike's combat attire appeared. He rounded up as much of Twilight's dirty underwear as he could, stuffed them into his pocket dimension, and teleported to the factory.
* * * * *
"FLARE!"
The three mahoushoujo leapt away as a massive crimson and orange fireball ripped through the spot where they'd been standing. Rainbow took to the air, wings beating powerfully as she flew at Sunset, spinning her lance. "TORNADO!" A glowing wind funnel ripped through the stagnant, dusty factory air, lifting Sunset off the ground, spinning her violently in the air, and throwing her into the broken base of some long-missing factory machine.
"Nice shot, Rainbow-chan!" Pinkie called. "My turn! "SMILE CONFETTI VAGINA!" With a tremendous BOOM and a cloud of pink smoke, a blast of confetti, streamers, balloons, cupcakes, party hats, and birthday candles exploded out of Pinkie's bazooka, slamming into Sunset as she pushed herself to her feet. Arcs of pink electricity coursed over Sunset's body; she smirked and swung her scythe at Pinkie. The energy of Pinkie's attack was redirected, striking Pinkie with a tremendous explosion that flung her into the front wall of the factory.
"PINKIE!" Rainbow cried, flying over.
Pinkie slumped against the wall, groaning. "That was super-unsmile," she said woozily.
"Specimen pin!" Twilight called, pointing her rapier at Sunset. Golden needles streaked forth, lancing Sunset through the right arm, left leg, and abdomen. She grunted as she braced herself against her scythe.
"You know," Sunset said, gritting her teeth as the magic needles disappeared and the various scrapes and burns on her body healed themselves, "I might be immortal, but that still hurts."
"Good," Twilight said, reverting her rapier to its baton form. "REPEL!" She aimed her baton at Sunset and unleashed a powerful bolt of violet magic.
Sunset rolled her eyes and waved her scythe. "REPEL!" A shaft of crimson magic intercepted Twilight's attack; the two blasts exploded, spraying dust and chunks of factory floor in all directions. She teleported behind Twilight and struck with her scythe, slashing Twilight across the back of her leg. Twilight screamed and went down, clutching her wounded leg.
Rainbow dropped out of the sky and slammed the spikes of her lance into Sunset's head, burying them deep in her skull. "ZAP!" Sunset screamed as blue lightning coursed through her body; her bones glowed through her skin. With a tremendous thunderclap, she was blown clear across the factory and lay in a smoking, bleeding heap.
"Twilight! Are you okay?" Rainbow asked, landing next to her. Pinkie rushed over.
Twilight grimaced and laid her hands on her wounded leg, bathing it in a lavender aura. A moment later, she gingerly stood, testing her leg. "I'll be alright," she said.
Sunset laughed. "Not for long," she said, teleporting into the air and readying a massive fireball.
"Chikushou...!" Rainbow spat. "That attack should have killed her!"
"I don't think anything can kill her," Twilight said, worry in her eyes. "BARRIER!" she added, twirling her baton quickly and erecting a magical barrier in front of the three girls. It shuddered as Sunset's spell impacted against it, but held. She frowned. "I've got an idea. You need to attack her simultaneously."
"Got it," Rainbow said, taking wing.
"You can count on me!" Pinkie said, kneeling beside Twilight and bracing her bazooka.
Twilight transfigured her baton into a rapier again and began concentrating, eyes fixed on Sunset.
Sunset landed on the factory floor, leaning against her scythe, an amused smirk on her face. "Really," she said derisively. "Do you think a combined attack is going to work? I'm immortal."
"We'll see about that!" Rainbow cried. "ZAP!"
"SMILE ELECTRIC VAGINA!"
Blue lightning combined with pink lightning, becoming a shaft of bright lavender electricity. The combined attack hit Sunset, who gritted her teeth and braced herself, straining against the agony of the strike.
Twilight raised her rapier above her head. "ERASE MAGIC!" She brought her rapier down in a quick, whipping motion, pointing it at Sunset Shimmer. A wave of dazzling golden light studded with violet sparkles poured forth from the blade, enveloping her...
...and scattering harmlessly as Sunset swung her scythe, unleashing another deadly crimson fireball, which struck Twilight and Pinkie. She leapt into the air and drove the blunt back of the scythe into Rainbow's abdomen, then delivered a spinning kick to her head, sending her crashing to the floor in a heap.
Sunset laughed coldly as she landed. "As I said before," she said, "I'm immortal. You girls are...amusing...but it's time for you to die now."
* * * * *
Spike crept through the loading bay entrance at the rear of the factory, cloaked in his Indifference charm. Despite the factory being abandoned, the electricity seemed to be on. He prowled around the complex of offices and break rooms at the rear of the factory, and eventually found the two boys who had kidnapped Twilight Velvet sitting in a break room, eating chips and drinking sodas as they watched a monitor in the corner. There was no sign of their captive; frowning, he kept exploring.
He heard muffled noises from the employees' toilet. He tried the door, but it was locked. With a grim smile, he cast a Remove Lock spell. The door swung open easily. There was no light inside; he produced a flashlight from his pocket dimension and shone it inside.
Twilight Velvet sat on the old, dirty toilet, bound and gagged with duct tape. She tensed up, eyes wide and terrified.
"Aunt Velvet, it's me," Spike said, dropping his Indifference charm. Velvet visibly sagged. Spike drew his dagger from his pocket dimension and set to work cutting her free.
As he removed the tape gagging her, she said, "The girls are in trouble. Those boys...they're working for—"
A jolt of electricity struck her. She twitched and slumped over.
Spike turned to see the two kidnappers standing behind him. The tall one held a gleaming silver wand in one hand, while the shorter one held a pair of knives.
"Big mistake choki," the short boy said.
Spike smiled grimly. "You have no idea how hard I'm gonna kick your butts." His dagger began to burn with emerald flames, and he charged forward, slashing the taller boy in the wrist and forcing him to drop the wand. He ducked low and swept the shorter boy's legs, then expelled a cloud of green fire, banishing the boy's knives. He hauled the tall boy up by the throat and pinned him to the wall, pressing the burning blade of his dagger against the boy's cheek.
The tall boy gasped for breath. "You're...you're from the Emerald Flame Clan?"
"That's right," Spike said, grinning savagely. "And you know what we do to people who hurt our loved ones?"
The short boy let out a bellow as he rose to his feet and headbutted Spike in the stomach, sending him crashing into the insensate Twilight Velvet. He cracked his knuckles. "Hey Snails, who's afraid of the big bad Dragon choki?"
Snails laughed. "Yeah, good one Snips! He's not so tough noso!"
Spike smiled as he stood up. "Wanna bet?" His eyes began to glow...
...and he transformed into a nine-foot-tall dragon.
Snips and Snails stared up at the angry purple dragon, eyes shrunken to pinpricks. "Screw this choki!" Snips turned and ran as fast as his short, thick legs would carry him.
"Uhhh...yeah...right behind you noso!" Snails stammered, nearly tripping over himself as he dashed off after Snips.
The dragon disappeared in a burst of flame, replaced by Spike. "Whew..." he said, wiping his brow with his arm.
"Nice illusion spell," Twilight Velvet said weakly as she struggled to sit up. She frowned at the duct tape still confining her. Her eyes glowed softly, and the tape vanished.
"Good thing they're idiots," Spike said. "Are they from Sun Island?"
"I think so," Velvet said. "More importantly, they're working for Sunset Shimmer."
Spike's eyes widened. "You...you can't be serious!"
"I saw her," Velvet said.
"Oh man..." Spike said. "Neechan's in trouble!" He stood in the doorway, jogging indecisively in place.
"Go help the girls," Velvet said. "I can manage." With that, she disappeared in a soft burst of pale lavender-white light.
Spike sighed and charged out into the factory, calling forth his dagger again. *Neechan...please be alright...*
* * * * *
Spell after spell battered against Twilight's shield; she cried out in pain as the effort to maintain her barrier brought tears to her eyes. She had already been driven to her knees; Rainbow and Pinkie knelt beside her, arms around her in support. They watched Sunset Shimmer fearfully as she cast wave after wave of magic.
"Give...up...and...DIE!" Sunset grunted.
"We're...not...giving...up!" Twilight hissed out between breaths, straining to hold up her shield.
"How can we fight this bitch?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't know," Twilight said. Her shield began to flicker.
Sunset let out a long, loud, triumphant evil laugh. "You're running out of power!" she called. "It ends now! INFERNO—"
"RYUUTATE NO JUTSU!"
A massive wall of green magic appeared between Sunset and the trio of mahoushoujo. Her spell collided with it and was absorbed; the wall warped, transforming into a giant green dragon, which roared and spat Sunset's magic back at her as a column of crimson flames flecked with green. Sunset screamed as her own spell engulfed her, setting her ablaze. The green dragon vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
"Are you girls alright?"
Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie looked up and let out a sigh of relief. Twilight's barrier fell. "Spike!" she cried happily, pushing herself to her feet.
Spike ran over to the mahoushoujo. "Wow, you girls look terrible," he said.
"How did you—?" Rainbow asked, jaw agape.
Spike snorted. "Are you kidding? Did you SEE those tits?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it's a good thing you showed up when you did. Is—"
"Aunt Velvet's fine. She's already gone home."
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Let's—"
"THAT. REALLY. HURT!"
"Oh crap," Rainbow said in a small voice.
Towering crimson flames engulfed half the factory as Sunset Shimmer stalked toward them, completely unharmed. She waved her scythe at Spike; he crumpled like an aluminum can.
"SPIKE!" Twilight gasped, kneeling beside him.
"Gonna...take a nap now..." Spike said, closing his eyes.
Twilight stood, eyes blazing. "Sunset Shimmer! I won't let you hurt anyone else!"
"Oh? And how do you intend to stop me?" Sunset asked. Flames wreathed her scythe.
"I'll find a way!" Twilight declared.
"We'll find a way!" Rainbow amended, standing beside Twilight.
"Yeah! The three of us are friends! We fight together...and we're not gonna die just because some unsmile vampire skank says so!"
Twilight looked at them, tears shining in her eyes. "Rainbow Dash...Pinkie Pie...my friends..." Her breath caught in her throat. "My...friends..."
A soft lavender glow began to spread outward from Twilight's heart, enveloping her entire body.
"Yes...we're your friends," Rainbow said. A soft sky-blue glow spread from her heart, covering her body.
"Friends forever!" Pinkie declared happily as a bright pink glow spread from her heart, covering her body.
Twilight opened her eyes, which glowed with a pure, bright white light. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, bearer of the Element of...MAGIC!"
"I'm Rainbow Dash, bearer of the Element of...LOYALTY!"
"I'm Pinkie Pie, bearer of the Element of...LAUGHTER!"
"Our friendship can overcome anything! Even in the face of death, we'll always be friends...and our friendship IS magic!"
A wave of pure white light poured forth from the three girls, gentle and warm, filling the air with a soft, serene chime. As it washed over Sunset Shimmer, her flawless skin began to change. Scars, burns, bruises, and puckered, bleeding wounds covered most of her body. She screamed in agony. "What...what did you DO TO ME?!"
The glow of magic faded from the three girls. Their transformations reversed, leaving them in their school uniforms. They stared at the scarred, burned, bleeding Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset's teal eyes burned with fury. "This isn't over, Twilight Sparkle!" she cried in rage and anguish. Crimson flames engulfed her, and she was gone.
"What just happened?" Pinkie asked.
"Did...did we win?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight sighed. "For now," she said. "But I don't think we finished her off. If she had enough strength to teleport away...she'll be back." She looked at her friends and wiped tears from her eyes. "Let's go home." She leaned down and gently slapped Spike's cheek. "Spike, wake up."
Spike groaned and looked up. "Neechan? Is it over?"
"Arigatou, Spike," Twilight said. "You really saved us."
"Yeah you did!" Rainbow said. "You rock, little dude!"
Spike smiled. "Glad I could help." He stood up shakily. "Sunset Shimmer sure filled out, didn't she?"
Twilight gently slapped him upside the head. "Perv," she said fondly. "Come on, we're going home."
* * * * *
Sunset materialized in the dark room and collapsed onto her favorite chair. Every inch of her body hurt. "What the HELL did they do to me? I'm immortal!"
She looked down at her scarred, bleeding hands, flexing them and hissing in pain. A very dim crimson glow surrounded them, and the bleeding slowly stopped.
Sunset let out a sigh. "This sucks..."
* * * * *
"Okaasan!" Twilight cried, throwing herself at her mother. The other girls collapsed wearily on the sofa.
"We have a lot to talk about," Twilight said. "But...we'll talk about it tomorrow."
"Agreed," Velvet said. She looked over the two girls on the sofa and grimaced. "Let me heal you girls up so your families won't freak out," she said.
After a round of healing magic, Rainbow and Pinkie left, and Twilight crawled into her own bed, exhausted.
At dawn, Twilight awoke to find Celestia sitting beside her bed. "Good morning, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said.
Twilight sat up sharply. "Celestia-sama!" She winced and clutched her shoulder.
"Are you alright, my student?"
"Just...tired and sore," Twilight said. "Celestia-sama...it's Sunset Shimmer. She's the one summoning the Changelings."
Celestia's face paled. "No..." she whispered.
"She's made herself immortal," Twilight said. "We couldn't even scratch her, until..."
"Until?" Celestia asked.
Twilight frowned. "I think...the Elements of Harmony are the only thing that can hurt her now."
Celestia sighed. "Then she is still a threat," she said.
Twilight nodded. "We won't be able to finish her off until we have the power of all six, will we?"
"I'm afraid not," Celestia said. "So you must continue to seek out friends here in Pony City...and remain vigilant for whatever new threats Sunset Shimmer unleashes."
"My friends and I won't let her hurt anyone else," Twilight said. "I promise."
Celestia smiled. "Then I leave everything in your capable hands," she said. She faded away into the golden morning light. Twilight flopped onto her back in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"Friends..." she sighed. "Can I really make new friends, knowing I'll just be putting them in danger?"