//------------------------------// // Magic 10: シューター // Story: 友達は魔法少女　～ＦＲＩＥＮＤＳＨＩＰ　ＩＳ　ＭＡＧＩＣＡＬ　ＧＩＲＬＳ～ // by MythrilMoth //------------------------------// "Now there are FOUR OF THEM?!" Snips and Snails cowered before Sunset Shimmer. "Yeah, and they killed that Changeling we summoned choki." "They...killed...the crown princess of the Changelings?" Sunset asked softly. There was a note of fear in her voice. "Just barely noso." Sunset closed her eyes and let out a slow hiss of breath. "This is bad," she whispered. "This is very, very bad..." The two boys looked at one another. "Uhh...we have a plan noso." Sunset's eyes snapped open, full of fire. "You two. Have a plan." Snails glanced at Snips, who shrugged and reached into his pocket, pulling out a handgun. "I stole this off a bank robber a few days ago choki." Sunset blinked. "We think if we can just...you know..." Snails mimed firing a gun. "Bang bang noso." "They sure won't be expecting it choki." Sunset frowned. "I don't like it," she said. "I hate to think that after everything I've done, everything I've been through, I'm willing to resort to using a stupid contraption from the outside world to end my enemies." She sighed. "And I really hate to admit that...you two might have actually come up with a decent plan for once." She nodded. "Get it done. And bring me the Elements of Harmony." She glared at them. "This is your last chance. If you screw this up, I'll do to the two of you what I did to my mother." Snips and Snails looked at one another, swallowed nervously, and left Sunset's chamber. Less than a minute later, a pair of slit-pupiled green eyes, limned in a sickly green aura, appeared in midair before Sunset. "We have much to discuss, you human piece of filth..." Sunset paled. Magic 10: シューター "So...let me get this straight," Cheese Sandwich said. "You girls...are real mahoushoujo. Like, you transform and have superpowers and fight monsters. For real. It's not fake." "We're as real as it gets," Twilight said as she focused her magic on Pinkie, healing the damage to her sternum. Each of the other girls lay on a mat, as did Spike; he had his phone out and was using it to order pizza. "Rarity-sama, what do you want on yours?" he asked. "Oh, I'll just have the margherita," she said. "I want Aloha barbecue," Rainbow called. "Ooh, that sounds good," Pinkie said. "But I think I'll have the Aloha quarter. Cheese rim, please." "I have...no idea what I want," Twilight said. "Just order me whatever. I trust you, Spike." "Order me a four quarters rim," Cheese said. "Oh, I'll pay for mine. And the drinks." "How very gracious of you," Rarity said. "Then I'll pay for the rest of the orders." "Senpai, you don't have to—" "Oh, but I insist," Rarity said. As Twilight finished working on Pinkie, she gasped. "Shimatta! I need to call my mother..." She pulled out her own phone and called home. "Okaasan? We ran into another of those really strong Changelings. This one would've wiped us out, but we found the fourth mahoushoujo. Hai. We're at the dance studio, resting up. We just ordered a whole bunch of pizza and we're...pretty much gonna stay here the rest of the day." She paused. "It's okay, I can call Celestia-sama. There's plenty of mirrors here. Hai. Don't worry, we're all fine...well, we will be. I'll tell you all about it later." She hung up, put her phone away, and walked over to one of the mirrors arrayed around the studio. "Communication." The image of Celestia's office appeared in the mirror. Cheese Sandwich stared. "How the heck?!" "Twilight," Celestia said with a nod. "You look exhausted." "We were attacked," Twilight said. "Another Changeling. She said she was the eldest daughter of the Changeling Queen." Celestia gasped. "You're extremely lucky to be alive!" she cried. "Tell me about it," Twilight replied. "If Senpai hadn't been there..." She shuddered. "It's a good thing I didn't erase her memory. She turned out to be the next bearer of an Element of Harmony." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "How interesting." She looked over Twilight's shoulder. "I see there is another person present..." Twilight grimaced. "Hai. Sandwich-san saw everything. I'm not even bothering with the memory spell. I think we need all the allies we can get in this city." "I'll trust your judgment," Celestia said. "Good sir," she called more loudly, "I trust you will remain...discreet regarding what you have seen and heard?" Cheese snorted. "Who'd believe me?" He paused. "Uhh...your...highness? Majesty? What am I...what am I supposed to—" Celestia laughed. "There is no need for formality, sir," she said. "I am merely a humble immortal mage." She looked back at Twilight. "And what of the other problem?" "Trixie showed up," Twilight said. "She confronted us, then the Changeling appeared..." She paused. "Then after my finishing attack didn't...quite finish off the Changeling..." "Trixie cut that stupid bug bitch's head off while she was distracted," Rainbow said. "Then she said some crap about 'I'm the only one allowed to defeat you' and ran away." Celestia blinked. "Goodness." She sighed. "There are two more to find, Twilight. Hurry." "We will, Celestia-sama." The image in the mirror vanished, and Twilight collapsed to one of the mats. "Pizza's on the way," Spike said. Cheese looked around at the group of tired, listless girls. "I don't know about all of you, but I could use some music or...or something. Anything." "Hey, why don't you play some of those parody songs you used to write?" Pinkie suggested. "We could all use a good laugh right now." * * * * * "It's so good to finally have you home, dearie," Fluttershy's grandmother said. "I've missed you terribly. So has your little bunny." She chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know how you handle him so well. He's an absolute terror!" "Angel can be a handful," Fluttershy said as she slipped off her shoes and stepped into her own home for the first time in over a week. "You just have to have the right touch..." "Well, I'm sure you're starving for some real food, so I'll get dinner started." Fluttershy padded back to her room, where she saw her favorite fluffy bunny curled up in his little basket. She smiled and crept close. "A~ngel," she whispered. "Mama's home." Angel's ears twitched. He sat up, looking up at Fluttershy. He hopped into her arms; she giggled and sat on the bed, snuggling him. "Did you miss me?" Angel nodded. Fluttershy grabbed a brush and lay flat on her bed, brushing Angel's tail. "They never did find out what was wrong with me," she said. She looked over at her nightstand, frowning. There was a pillowcase folded there. "Now how did that get there?" she wondered. Angel's ears twitched and he peered curiously at her. "Did you do that, Angel?" Fluttershy asked. She sat up, picking up the pillowcase. Her nose wrinkled. She lifted it to her face and smelled it. "Ugh! It stinks!" Grimacing, she held it by one corner as she walked to the bathroom and tossed it in the hamper, then washed her hands. She wore a faint, puzzled frown as she returned to her bedroom and resumed her grooming of Angel. "What was that smell? I mean, I know every smell that comes out of you, and that..." She frowned. "It smelled like..." She shook her head. "Oh well. I'm sure it's not important." She smiled and scratched Angel between the ears. "I'm just happy to be home." * * * * * //Hiiii~! Honey Voice here, bringing you the latest news in the world of Net Idols! //This week's top-rated Net Idol is of course Smile-chan! We do have some sad news, however: Smile-chan announced last night that her new PV has been delayed. Smile-chan and her idol unit were involved in an accident yesterday! So scary! Smile-chan said everyone's okay, but they're shaken up and need time to rest and recover before they can get back to work. We here at NetIdol Week wish Smile-chan the very best! //We've also learned that G.P.T is preparing to release a new song soon. Does anybody really even care?// Pinkie frowned and changed the channel. "They should really stop picking on G.P.T like that, even if she is a meanie-pants ninja who wants to kill us all..." //—urging citizens to donate blood, as local hospitals are in crisis. Hospitals and blood banks are in short supply, and are currently using approximately 70% more blood per week than is being donated.// Pinkie sighed and changed the channel again. "I wonder if anything good is on—ooh, Ramen Ninja!" * * * * * //L-Lady Sashimi! Why...why are you...?// //Shh...rest now. Udonmaru's strike was deep...you're losing a great deal of blood...lie still while I heal you...// Sweetie Belle sat in front of the television in the breakfast nook, munching on sugary cereal. //But...Lady Sashimi...why would you help me? The Ramen Village and the Village Hidden in the Sushi are not allies...// //I don't care about such things...I would help any brave shinobi who stands against the tyranny of Udonmaru...// "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity called. Her head poked around the corner. "Good morning, dear little s—are you watching that ghastly anime again?" "It's not ghastly, it's fun!" Sweetie Belle said. "And I can watch whatever I want." Rarity sniffed delicately. "If you must," she said with a sigh. "I wanted to tell you I'll be busy in my work room all day, so..." "I won't get in your way," Sweetie said. She shoved a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and crunched it venomously. Rarity frowned mildly. "Yes...well...perhaps we can have lunch together..." She walked away, leaving Sweetie to her breakfast and her cartoon. //Thank you, Lady Sashimi. Your kindness knows no bounds...// * * * * * "Rainbow-chan! Twilight-chan! We heard about the accident!" "Are you okay?" Lyra and Derpy hovered over Twilight and Rainbow's desks, faces tense and anxious. Twilight waved them off. "We're fine," she said, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, Pinkie's producer is just overreacting," Rainbow said. "Well, she did get the worst of it," Twilight said. "Almost fracturing your sternum is nothing to sneeze at." Several people gasped at that. Lyra screamed. "Almost fractured her WHAT?!" She looked around wildly. "Oh my gosh, you guys! We need to run over to her class right now and cheer her up!" Several students stampeded for the door. At the front of the class, Cheerilee sighed. "Why am I even here?" she muttered. * * * * * "Goodness, 2-B certainly is noisy today," Fluttershy's homeroom teacher said. "Anyway...everyone, Fluttershy-san is back! Let's welcome her back, and do our best to help her get caught up, alright?" She looked at her podium, frowned, then searched her desk. "Oh no, I left my notebook in the teacher's lounge..." She frowned. "Excuse me for a moment, class." She left the room. "What's going on over there, I wonder?" Fluttershy mused as a loud tumult erupted from the neighboring class. Beside her, a girl named Daisy rolled her eyes. "There was an announcement yesterday that that Smile girl got hurt over the weekend." "Smile? The Net Idol?" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah. Didn't you know? She goes to this school. She's in 2-B." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "I didn't know that!" "Yeesh, where've you be—" Daisy trailed off. "Ah, gomen!" Another girl snorted. "The thing at the park happened before Fluttershy got sick," she said. "Oh yeah!" Daisy frowned at Fluttershy. "You really don't have a clue, do you?" Fluttershy ducked her head. "I-I'm sorry..." "Lay off," another girl said. "Anyway, that noise is probably just a lot of her fans crowding her." "I see..." * * * * * The remainder of the day had been chaotic. Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie hadn't been able to find any refuge from the other students, and had been forced to endure questions and give carefully rehearsed answers. By the end of the day, Twilight was too tired to think, and trudged home in a weary fog, wanting nothing more than some chocolate and a nap. Rainbow had track practice, and Pinkie went home with Rarity to work on the costumes. "A little peace and quiet would be nice," she muttered to herself. "Just some time to relax..." * * * * * Snips lurked in an alley halfway between Umadakara High School and the bookstore where Twilight Sparkle and her mother lived. Having observed her for some time, he knew she walked home, and he knew this stretch of road was the most deserted part of her route. He hoped she was with one or more of the other mahoushoujo today; if he could take out more than one at the same time, it would undoubtedly please Sunset Shimmer. He tensed when he saw a girl in an Umadakara uniform walk past, then relaxed; she wasn't familiar. The girl with the long pale pink hair disappeared into a convenience store. A few minutes later, Twilight Sparkle walked by. Snips pulled the gun out of his pocket, thumbing off the safety. He cast a silencing spell on the gun and its ammunition. He stepped out of the alley, took aim, and fired. Twilight dropped to the pavement. Snips walked calmly out of the alley. One more shot to the head, then he could steal her Element of Harmony and be on his way. Without her, the others would be helpless. It was really too easy. The pink-haired girl stepped out of the convenience store. He froze. She saw the gun in his hand. She started screaming. Heads poked out of doors and windows all up and down the street. Snips looked around wildly, uncertain. He could shoot the screaming girl, finish off Twilight, and run... A few large, muscular men emerged from shop doors and started bellowing at him. If he took the time to finish the job, there'd be no escape; he didn't have enough magical power to fight off a crowd, he certainly didn't have enough bullets, and he couldn't teleport away. Cursing, Snips turned and ran like hell. * * * * * A hot, terrible pain exploded in Twilight's side. Her eyes dilated as she dropped to the ground, having lost the strength to remain on her feet. Confusion jumbled her thoughts: What had just happened? Why did she fall? She hadn't seen or sensed anything strange...there was just pain, pain unlike anything she had ever experienced... Through the red-black haze of pain, she saw feet approaching. She took a shallow, ragged breath, trying to summon her magic, but the pain wracking her body made it impossible to concentrate. She heard a loud, high-pitched scream. The feet approaching her stopped, turning. The screaming continued. She heard more noises. The feet that were so close turned haltingly, faltering momentarily before running away. A warm, gentle hand laid itself upon her face. "Are...are you..." a soft voice whispered. Fingers pressed against her neck. "Thank goodness," the voice said with a sigh. A moment later, Twilight heard that same voice, as though through gallons of murky water, say, "Hai...a girl has been shot...yes, I said shot...the shooter ran..." The voice became indistinct as Twilight's senses failed her, enveloping her in darkness. * * * * * Fluttershy's first day back to school was not going at all like she'd hoped. First, there had been half her class making her feel stupid for not knowing a Net Idol went to their school. Then, she'd spent most of the day frantically trying to catch up; very few of her classmates were willing to lend her notes. At lunch, one of her classmates had stolen her fried shrimp. That really upset her, because her grandmother worked so hard to make those, but she wasn't able to work up the nerve to protest before it was too late. After school, she decided to stop by a convenience store and buy a sweet bread roll before heading to the pet shop. She'd just emerged from the store when she saw something absolutely terrifying: A girl, wearing an Umadakara uniform, lay bleeding on the sidewalk. A boy, a couple of years younger than her, was walking toward the bleeding girl, holding a gun. Fluttershy dropped her bag and started screaming. The boy looked right at her, frowning. She tried to run, but she was rooted to the spot. All she could do was keep screaming. Doors started opening up and down the block, heads poking out. "Who's making all that racket?" "What's going on out here?" "OH MY GOD, THAT BOY HAS A GUN!" "SOMEONE'S BEEN SHOT! CALL THE POLICE!" "YOU LITTLE PUNK! DON'T YOU KNOW GUNS ARE ILLEGAL IN THIS COUNTRY?!" Several burly middle-aged men advanced out into the street. The boy with the gun looked around indecisively, then turned on his heel and ran. The men followed him, bellowing at him all the way. Once the boy and his deadly weapon were removed from the equation, Fluttershy stopped screaming and started thinking. Numbly, she picked up her bag, then walked over to the wounded girl. She knelt and gently touched the girl's cheek. "Are...are you...?" She felt the girl's neck for a pulse, and found one. "Thank goodness..." She pulled out her phone and dialed 119. "Hai...a girl has been shot...yes, I said shot...the shooter ran..." She gave the operator the address. "Hai...I'll wait with her...I don't know who she is...she goes to my school but I've never...alright..." She disconnected, then called 110 and gave the same information to the police dispatch. As she waited for the ambulance, Fluttershy sat beside the girl, heart hammering in her chest. She fumbled through the girl's bag, finding her student ID. "Twilight Sparkle...2-C..." She swallowed. "You're going to be alright, Sparkle-san...they're coming...oh..." She saw Twilight's phone sticking out of the side pocket of her bag and reached for it, scrolling through the contact list. Finding a number labeled "Okaasan", she dialed it and waited. //Hello Twiley-chan! Are you on the way home?// "Anou...sumimasen...are you the mother of Twilight Sparkle?" The voice on the other end faltered. //H-hai...who is—?// "I...I'm with her...waiting for an ambulance. Somebody just shot her." //WHAT?!// "I...I got a good look at him...I screamed until he ran away...I called an ambulance, I'm with her...I'm waiting...I thought I should try calling you..." //Where is she? Where are you?// Fluttershy rattled off the address for the third time that afternoon. //Stay with her...please...I'll be at the hospital as soon as I can...// The call ended, and Fluttershy put Twilight's phone and student ID back in her bag. She rubbed circles on Twilight's back, heedless of the blood staining her own uniform. And there was so much blood...ever so much... Fluttershy was terrified. Every instinct was telling her to run and hide, to lock herself in her room and cry. But... This girl needed her. This girl she'd never met in her life...at this moment, Fluttershy was all she had. And so she sat in the spreading pool of Twilight Sparkle's blood and waited. The police arrived seconds behind the ambulance. While Twilight was attended by paramedics, a police officer pulled Fluttershy aside. "You witnessed the shooting?" "Yes. Well...not exactly. She'd already been shot when I came outside. I was in that store over there." The officer frowned. "And you didn't hear the gunshot?" "I don't think anybody did," Fluttershy said. "Nobody else came out into the street until I started screaming." She shook her head. "What I saw was her lying on the ground bleeding, and a boy with a gun walking toward her." The officer nodded. "I'd like to take you to the kouban and ask more questions..." "Anou...a-actually..." Fluttershy watched the ambulance as it drove off, siren wailing. "Is...is it alright if we follow them to the hospital?" She toyed with her hair. "I...I saw on...on Sparkle-san's student ID...we have the same blood type. She...she might need blood..." The officer nodded. "Alright. It's against procedure, but saving her life is more important, and I can finish asking you what I need to know at the hospital..." * * * * * Twilight Velvet paced nervously in the hospital waiting room. She'd been there several minutes when Spike arrived with Pinkie, Rainbow, and even Rarity in tow. She looked around at them and took a shaky breath. "I...I don't know all the details yet. I don't even know who...who it was who called me, but..." A uniformed police officer walked into the emergency room. "Excuse me," he called. "Is anyone here related to Twilight Sparkle-san?" "I'm her mother," Velvet said immediately. The officer nodded. His face was grim. "Ma'am...your daughter was shot." The girls gasped. Spike's face hardened. Velvet sank into a chair, face pale. "So she really was...oh God..." "I just saw them take her into surgery. The girl who called the ambulance is with her...the doctor says it's a miracle she was found by someone with the same blood type." The officer sighed. "It's a good thing she talked me into bringing her here instead of the kouban." "Who shot Neechan?" Spike asked. His voice was cold. "We don't know," the officer said. "I've reported the incident to headquarters. Detectives will be searching the area, speaking to witnesses. The best witness we have is the girl who called, and she's needed in the operating room right now." The officer spoke with Velvet for several minutes, then left. Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "Twilight was...shot?" she squeaked. "This...this can't be real, right? This is some trick, right?" "Do you suppose that ninja girl is responsible?" Rarity asked. Spike shook his head. "You saw the way she was the other day," he said. "She's too proud to do something this cowardly." "Yeah, she seemed like she wanted some big epic showdown," Pinkie said. After what had to have been hours, a doctor walked into the waiting room. Velvet leapt to her feet. "My daughter, is she...?" "You're the mother of Twilight Sparkle-san?" At Velvet's nod, the doctor continued, "She's stable. She's still unconscious. The damage could have been much worse. It's going to take a while for her to recover." "Can I...can I see her?" Velvet asked. The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm afraid she can't have any visitors until tomorrow." He paused, then said, "But the girl who saved her life...she's in the recovery room. You probably want to talk to her." The entire group stood up, and he frowned. "I'm sorry, I can only let two of you go back..." "You and Spike go," Rainbow said. "We'll wait." * * * * * Velvet and Spike followed the doctor into a long room full of leather recliners separated by partitions, with rolling tables and a portable rack of electronic equipment stationed near each chair. The room was mostly empty; at the very back, a frail-looking girl with long pink hair sat in one of the chairs, drinking a can of juice and nibbling on a muffin. Velvet approached her. "You...you're the one who saved my daughter's life?" she asked. The girl looked up. "You're Sparkle-san's mother?" At Velvet's nod, she smiled. "They say she's going to be fine." She set her muffin down. "I'm Fluttershy. I'm sorry I can't stand up right now—" "That's perfectly alright, dear," Velvet said. "I just wanted to thank you...thank you so much..." "They almost didn't let me give blood," Fluttershy said. "I just got out of the hospital myself two days ago." "Oh dear. Are you alright?" "I'm fine. They never did find out what was wrong with me." Fluttershy frowned. "But they didn't have any blood of my type on hand, so..." "Well, I can't begin to tell you how lucky we all are that you were there," Velvet said. Spike stepped forward. "Did you see the bastard that shot Neechan?" Fluttershy blinked. "Oh my...are you Sparkle-san's brother?" "More or less," Spike said. "Well?" "Spike! Don't interrogate the poor girl!" Velvet chided. "N-no, it's alright," Fluttershy said. "I saw him, but...everything happened so fast. He was young...about your age, maybe older...he was short, kind of pudgy...his eyes were really evil-looking..." She frowned. "That's about all I really remember." She bowed her head. "Gomen nasai. I'm tired..." "That's alright. You rest now, dear," Velvet said. "We'll talk more later." Her eyes glowed softly as she laid a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. Fluttershy's eyes fluttered closed and she drifted off to sleep. With a frown, Velvet placed her hand on the side of Fluttershy's head. Her own eyes rolled back in their sockets as her hand glowed. A moment later, she broke contact, stepping away with a curse. "Well?" Spike asked. "It's one of those two boys," Velvet said. "The ones who kidnapped me." "Sunset Shimmer's stooges?" "Hai. The shorter one." Spike snarled. "I'll be back later," he said. He vanished in a burst of red fire. Velvet gasped. "Spike..." * * * * * The girls looked up anxiously when Velvet returned. "Where's Spike-kun?" Rarity asked. Velvet's eyes looked troubled. "It was one of Sunset Shimmer's minions that shot Twilight," she said. "Spike...he's already gone. He's...he's absolutely furious." "I don't blame him," Rainbow said. "I say we—" "No," Velvet said, shaking her head. "I'm not letting you girls out of my sight until those boys are off the streets." She sighed. "Which may be very soon. I'm pretty sure Spike intends to kill them." Pinkie gasped. "Spike-kun's going to—?!" "I've never seen Spike's flames turn red before," Velvet said. "It's...not a good sign." "Oh dear..." Rarity said, clutching a hand to her chest. "Do you really think he'd—?" Velvet nodded grimly. "If he finds them, I don't for an instant believe he'll let them live." Rarity paled. "So the girl recognized them?" Rainbow asked. Velvet shook her head. "I had to read her mind after I cast a mild sleep spell on her," she said. "You can do that?" Pinkie asked, eyes wide. Velvet smiled. "A little bit. Enough that neither of my children ever got away with anything growing up." She chuckled. "I don't use it on Spike, though. I don't particularly want to go into his mind." She sighed. "At any rate, we're going to have to do something very nice for Fluttershy-san. If not for her, Twiley-chan would be...would be..." She trailed off as she caught the shocked expressions on Rainbow's and Pinkie's faces. "Girls?" "Fluttershy?!" Rainbow cried. "Seriously?!" "Wow, that's a heck of a coincidence," Pinkie said. "Am I missing something?" Rarity asked. "Remember those icky fuzzy things that were chasing us that one day?" Pinkie asked. Rarity nodded. "The creatures I saw the three of you fight in the park, yes." "Fluttershy's the one they were feeding off of," Pinkie said. Velvet's eyes widened. "She did say she just got out of the hospital two days ago. So that's—" Rainbow nodded. "A Changeling drained her until she collapsed." Rarity raised an eyebrow. "And now she's repaid you girls without even knowing it, by saving Sparkle-san's life." She pulled her henshin locket out of her blouse and ran her fingers over it. "Girls, I believe we need to get to know this Fluttershy-san..." * * * * * Twilight opened her eyes and saw nothing but blurry white. A dull ache throbbed in her head. She groaned; her mouth was dry and cottony. "She's waking up," she heard Rainbow say. She tried to sit up, but gentle hands pressed her against the bed. "Pinkie-chan, get the doctor," her mother said. "On it!" Twilight licked her lips. "What...happened? Where—" "Shh," a gentle voice said. "You need to rest." Twilight turned her head. Her vision cleared slightly; she saw a fuzzy blob of pink hanging over her. That same quiet voice said, "Some horrible boy shot you. You're in the hospital." "Sh-shot me?" Twilight rasped. "It was one of Sunset Shimmer's lackeys," her mother said, firm steel in her voice. "Spike is hunting him now. Him and the other one. We haven't seen him since yesterday." "It's a good thing 'Shy here came along when she did. She saved your life twice!" Twilight blinked stupidly. "I...what?" The gentle voice spoke again, full of embarrassment. "Umm...I'm Fluttershy," she said. "I...I was there when..." "You owe Fluttershy-san your life, Sparkle-san," a new, male voice intruded. She felt firm hands poke and prod her, heard a pen scratching on paper. "She saw you get shot, she called the ambulance and the police, then she stayed with you until the ambulance came. And then she gave you a blood transfusion." Twilight blinked. Someone shoved her glasses onto her face. The pink blur resolved itself into a pale, kind face with blue-green eyes, framed by cherry blossom pink hair. The girl smiled at her. "You're...Fluttershy...san?" Twilight asked. The girl nodded. "Hai." Twilight tried to smile, but didn't have the strength. "A...arigatou," she rasped. "She needs her rest now," the doctor said. "She's going to be fine." * * * * * Spike knelt on the corner of a rooftop, looking out over the streets below. A cold red fire burned around him, fed by his rage. He heard a soft sound behind him and spun around, throwing a kunai. "Calm yourself, Emerald Flame boy," Trixie said, deflecting his kunai in mid-air. "I didn't come here to fight." "Then get lost," Spike growled. "I'm busy." "Oh, I know you are," Trixie said. She tossed a squirming bundle to the rooftop. Spike's eyes widened. It was Snips, bound shoulder to toe in duct tape, muffled screams and curses issuing forth through a cloth gag. "What's he worth to you?" Trixie asked.