Stacks of heavy foreign books littered the front of the bed by the hot-tempered Magical Girl’s feet, a list filled with checkmarks held in her peach colored hands as her skin was lit by the light pouring through the window just at the right of the bed.
...They were given only a week to figure out the Japanese language before they were going to be thrown into that creamy-uniform trap of a school. Only a week since they started practicing their greetings and small phrases, hiragana and katakana characters…
And Rainbow thought that Flight School was more than enough. This was egghead central. If it wasn’t for her ability of flight and being able to take things in, she’d surely be doomed. And even then, she could only have her wings when she was transformed, which was a huge letdown.
Why were they even being forced to go? They were done with school already!
…Or at least, that’s how it’d be if they were still in Equestria. With a deep sigh, the rainbow-haired Magical Girl threw herself back into the squishy comforts of the mattress their host so graciously donated when she offered her and Fluttershy a place to stay. The sensation only caused the girl to frown.
…Certainly was no cloud, but it’d have to do.
It was just as Home Run said. They lost any chance of returning as soon as they entered a contract with Cubes. Now two days ago was just going to be a memory of how things used to be.
…Things had started awesome that day, too.
Before she was thinking of making that trip to Cloudsdale, she had arranged with Pinkie to work together on a prank against Applejack while she was busy, and the two buddies had a blast painting their cutie marks on each of the farm-pony’s apples.
Ponies usually knew it was them, anyway.
Rainbow Dash chuckled at the distant memory.
The door slowly swung open as the rainbow-haired girl saw another figure with a wave of pink hair and a white and green dress enter inside the room, her lips shaped into a soft smile.
The other just smiled back. “…Hey, Flutters. Konnichiwa, or something like that.”
Fluttershy approached her as she walked in, a tray of what looked like a batch of cookies and a mug filled with a brown liquid.
“Konnichiwa, Dashie. I actually went out today with Miss Homura to the supermarket today.” She grinned as she lifted the tray towards her companion’s direction. “I…actually convinced her to think of you a little since you’ve been so bummed with characters lately.”
Rainbow took a whiff as she quickly put the checklist down and took the tray with both hands. “Wow, thanks, Flutters! You actually managed to get cocoa for me, sweet!” She laughed, a wider grin forming on her face.
The pink-haired Magical Girl giggled as she curled her fingers and put it to her lips. “Don’t thank me; it was Miss Homura’s yen that got it for you. I just gave a little push is all…”
The rainbow Magical Girl put the tray onto the bed. “So…” She looked back towards her friend. “…How did that go again, the whole ‘thank you for the food’ thing…?”
Fluttershy blinked. “O-Oh, um…I think it was…’Itadakimasu’…I think…”
She nodded. “R-Right, right…” An intake of breath as she put her hands together in a straight form in front of her. “…Itadakimasu!”
Fluttershy joined in as well. “Itadakimasu…” She whispered as she watched her friend reach over for a cookie. Well, actually it wasn’t a cookie; it was a rice cracker…according to Miss Homura, anyway.
A crunching sound was heard as the rainbow haired Magical Girl sunk her teeth into the treat, her expression unchanging upon contact with cracker. The taste wasn’t overly sweet or spicy…In fact…it was a little bland for her taste buds. Why did Japanese stuff have no substance?
Where was the surge of yummy juiciness?
She rolled her eyes as she picked up the mug of cocoa and put the hot beverage to her eager lips.
…Yes, that was it! That surge of chocolaty goodness, just flowing all throughout her throat. Thanks to the rice cracker having no taste or whatever, the chocolate dominated her mouth, and conquered her for a few seconds before she always made a comeback by swallowing it and taking it where it couldn’t fight back any longer.
The Dash always managed to beat her chocolate.
Fluttershy smiled as she swallowed the portion she took of her cracker. “…What do you think of the rice crackers, Dashie?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Meh, it’s almost like I’m eating nothing but crunchy. Practically tasteless, if you want my harsh opinion of it.”
…The other Magical Girl sweatdropped. “…I suppose…I actually kind of like them. They don’t really have a heavy taste, yes…but they’re crunchy and satisfying enough that I could eat them all day…But I’m not going to force you to like them if you don’t want to…That’s just your opinion, same with the coffee.”
“You got that right. I’ll eat ‘em, sure, but they’re kinda not my thing.” She nodded as she took another bite of her cracker, her body slouching across the bed beside the many foreign language books she unfortunately had to become acquainted with, her prismatic hair spilling down the pillows.
In fact, she had to get used to a lot of things lately. Home Run, for one, was an early bird, which meant that everypony had to be an early bird, whether they liked it or not.
…Rainbow Dash was no early bird.
The rainbow-haired Magical Girl yawned as she brushed the crumbs that spilled onto her shirt from the cracker away, her magenta eyes sleepy and a little stressed. “…Did she really have to make us wake up this early, though…? I never even woke up this early unless I was taking care of a heavy weather load, snow or something…” She grumbled.
Fluttershy gave a short sigh. “Yes, Dashie…this morning we have to get our uniforms in order to be ready for tomorrow, and we just went over to pick them up today. Yours is in the other room, and…Miss Homura said for us to try them on, make sure everything fits…”
Rainbow made a face. “Guh, that creamy frou-frou thing’s already here? And we gotta try them on today? Come on, Home Run!” She whined as she rolled onto her stomach and wrapped her arms around the nearest pillow. “I’m not putting on that thing!”
The pink-haired Magical Girl frowned. “Dashie…”
“No! You can’t make me!”
“Dashie…” She warned.
…
...The rainbow-haired Magical Girl gave a deep sigh into the soft pillows. “…I’ll…deal with it.” She grumbled into the fabric. “…Does that make you happy?”
Fluttershy grinned. “Yes.”
---
Birds chirped in the distance as the four Magical Girls stood together, their bodies shaded by the many trees that decorated the streets of Mitakihara City heading towards the school. Around them, a sea of cream colored and white and black uniforms walked by, each minding their own business and wanting to get to where they needed to be.
In the many different arrays of hair colors that ranged from black to pink, blue to green, browns to whites, Rainbow Dash could do anything but blending in and not attracting a crowd as she sat there, her hand clenching the hem of the black plaid-patterned short skirt she wore as the rest of her was shut up in a trap of cream colored blouse with frills along the bottom and puffy sleeves. The red ribbon tied across the white undershirt into a bow almost felt like a straightjacket to the pegasus while she stood there uncomfortably at the center of everyone’s attention. It was kinda hard to show off when you could hardly understand what people were actually saying about you.
…She usually thrived in the spotlight.
Fluttershy smiled as she placed a hand against her friend’s shoulder, causing the rainbow-haired Magical Girl to wince. “…It’s okay, Dashie. We’ll be okay…” She whispered softly to her companion.
Akemi Homura cleared her throat before she faced the other three. “Are you ready?” She spoke in a foreign sound, the voice monotone yet still holding a chime to the ears. She was speaking Japanese now, a test she conceived for the other Magical Girl ponies to step up their game a little.
Fluttershy nodded. “…Hai…” Despite her previous moments, the timid pink-haired girl was actually getting better as she went along, though the apathetic Magical Girl wasn’t making things any easier for the both of them. They had to stay up all night remembering the Japanese characters for three days, and during the morning they were put through the task of writing the correct stroke orders onto a parchment of paper.
…They really had no other option.
“…And you? Are you ready for this?” Homura turned to face the prismatic girl, her eyes calm and collective, unlike the Magical Girl addressed.
Avoiding eye contact, Rainbow could only grumble as she fidgeted in her uniform. “…Hai…” She mumbled, a small blush forming on her cheeks. This was straight out humiliation!
Tomoe Mami beamed as she placed her hands together. “Alright then, Fluttershy-san and Rainbow-san! Let us be going then!”
The four started towards the school without any further conversation, joining in the many hordes of uniforms as they grew closer to their destination…
…Mitakihara Middle School.
Rainbow blinked. In front of her, a trio of girls giggled and laughed as they walked together, but what really caught her attention was the white fluffy creature wrapped around the shoulder of a pink pigtailed girl with red ribbons.
She grinned. “Hey, Fluttershy, it’s Cubes!” She faced her companion who also smiled brightly at the sight of the adorable creature.
Fluttershy gave a small squeak of delight at the sight of her fluffy furry friend. “I’m so glad to see that QB is still around.” The four stopped for a moment. “…I wonder who that girl he’s accompanying is? Is she also a Magical Girl?”
Mami shook her head. “Kaname-san certainly has the vast potential to become one, but she has yet to find a suitable enough wish for her contract.”
Rainbow blinked. “Huh? Why not?”
The veteran gave a small smile. “It’s actually fine that she hasn’t done so yet. She should be able to take her sweet time in thinking about it. Our kind of life isn’t one that should be rushed into without second thoughts.”
Fluttershy nodded. “I suppose…but wouldn’t it be nice if we could all be companions? That way, we wouldn’t have to risk our lives so much because somepo-“ She stopped for a moment. “…Somebody…would be able to cover for you.”
Homura frowned at the thought. “…Someone with her personality shouldn’t even contract in the first place.” Rainbow could’ve sworn she saw her eyes were showing…pain? “Vast potential can be an advantage, but too much power would only make it harder to keep one’s Soul Gem clean.”
Fluttershy frowned in confusion. Advanced Japanese was being used somewhere in this conversation. “…Hai.” She agreed out of habit, hoping it was somehow the right answer to give.
Mami pursed her lips. “Mmm…perhaps you may have a point, Akemi-san…With Walpurguisnacht approaching, we need to conserve the amount of Grief Seeds we use. In the meantime, we should be heading inside about now. The other students are most of the way inside, and we still need to drop by the office to give paperwork.”
Rainbow blinked. What the hay were these foreign Japanese eggheads even saying?
Homura nodded. “Yes. I have everything ready. Do you remember what to explain to the teacher?”
The veteran gave a smirk. “Fluttershy-san is my cousin who has lived in America her whole life, but she's a year younger than me, correct?”
The other apathetic Magical Girl nodded. “And Rainbow Dash is my cousin who has never lived in Japan, but grew up in America. Her hair alone should give students the hint that she is, in fact, a foreigner who knows little Japanese.”
Mami frowned. “But still, where exactly did you learn how to forge legal papers, Akemi-san? Have you been involved in shady businesses without my knowledge?”
The other only narrowed her eyes. “…That’s my business. And it worked out in our favor, did it not, Tomoe-san?”
Fluttershy held onto her companion’s sleeve as the two were led through a building filled with glass windows as far as the eye could see. By looking left, she saw what looked like a full class, each either paying attention to the board in front of them as a teacher seemed to be shouting at the top of her lungs, or some were doing a couple sketches here and there, not paying attention at all.
That pink pigtailed girl was one of the latter, QB relaxing rather contently on top of her dark blue uniformed school bag just beside her desk.
Fluttershy gave a small smile.
…Hello, QB. It’s very nice to see you again after that stressing first day.
The creature opened its eyes, making contact with the figure just beyond the glass with her blue eyes.
…A pleasure to see you again as well, Fluttershy. Will you be enrolling, by any chance?
She smiled.
We are, as a matter of fact. Miss Homura has surprisingly been very gracious to us. Even now, though…I can’t understand why she would hate you so.
Kyuubey closed its eyes.
Akemi Homura does not agree with me contracting Kaname Madoka. Just before I met you two in that Sweet Witch’s barrier, she had acted violent towards me in the mall. Back then, Mami did not agree with her methods. It seems as if that has changed.
...Miss Homura showed her this big witch called Walpurgisnacht. She…she had footage of it.
It blinked.
Is that so? I do not know how she managed to retrieve such valuable information, but it is only natural that Mami would believe her if Akemi Homura presented such a piece of evidence.
Fluttershy pursed her lips as they were led to the door that was just outside of the same room QB was in.
…QB, why must Walpurgisnacht occur? Must we really risk our lives and everything we’ve achieved so far?
Kyuubey shook its head.
There must be an outlet for all the despair that plagues this world, Fluttershy. Walpurgisnacht is a combination of many beings of despair put together into a physical being. If you do not wish to lose what you have achieved…then perhaps Kaname Madoka could aid you in your battle. She would surely be strong enough to defeat Walpurgisnacht. If she contracts with me, that is…
Fluttershy shook the voice from her thoughts. Was contracting this Madoka really all that important to QB? She was a normal human who was trying to live her life…she most likely had a family…The timid Magical Girl couldn’t help but look in the direction of the pink pigtailed girl, uncertainty in her eyes.
…There really was no reason for her to pursue this life at all. Then again…if Rainbow was never in danger…would she have contracted as she did? She still had the desire to protect her, but would she have had the courage to go through with it?
The four girls remained in silence as a voice, muffled as it was, could be heard through the door rather clearly.
“…Now,” It was fluent Japanese. “With that settled, we have two new transfer students today, relatives of a couple students of our school. As such, the staff has requested that these two students help the poor dears learn more about our school, so be nice when they come in, alright?”
…A chorus of acknowledgements.
“…Right, now then! Akemi-san, Tomoe-san, we’re ready! Please come in!” The teacher’s cheerful voice rang through the classroom, her short brown hair bouncing with her every movement.
Homura nudged the two foreign ponies. “…It’s time.”
The door slid open slowly as the group of students eagerly awaited the arrival of these new students. From the opened doorway, the class could see a girl with beautiful prismatic hair, unlike anything they’d ever seen before, walk into the classroom, her posture rather stiff before she quickly shifted into a more slouched position, a firm expression on her face as she faced the multitudes in front of her.
It’s okay, she’d practiced this almost a million times before. She had it down!
“I’m Rainbow Dash! Pleased to meet you!” She grinned at her audience as the room was filled with fascinated eyes and whistles from a throng of guys as she did a quick bow before facing the crowd once more.
Yup, totally had that down! She was speaking Japanese! And they loved her!
But she wasn’t the only one in the spotlight. With a smile, the rainbow-haired Magical Girl held out a hand towards the doorway, where another girl with dazzling pink wavy hair walked in, her posture being meek and rather uncomfortable. With an encouraging rub on the shoulder from her friend, the timid Magical Girl faced the crowd in front of her. All the stares, the whistles…the attention…!
“I-I-I’m…F-F-Fluttershy, p-p-please take care of me!” She bowed low, glad to no longer be staring at the students in front of her as they clapped and cheered for their arrival. She spoke the language okay, she was happy about that…but the crowd was just too much.
The teacher smiled at the two. “I am Kazuko-sensei. Your seats are over there.” She pointed towards the direction each of them were supposed to go in strong English. Without another word, Rainbow Dash watched her life-long fillyhood friend go in a separate direction from her to a vacant seat just next to a blue-haired girl that sat diagonally from Kaname Madoka just up front in the middle of the classroom.
Rainbow Dash was sent to sit a little further up, closer to where she noticed Home Run was actively taking her own seat in the class. Being ahead of her friend felt a little weird, but she could roll with it…
…She just wished they didn’t have to wear such frou-frou uniforms.
Fluttershy blinked as the blue-haired girl leaned towards her direction.
“…So…how do you like Japan?” She asked in a clumsy attempt at English, her face ending in an awkward smile.
The timid Magical Girl smiled. “…It’s…different.” She whispered. “…Nothing like America.”
She grinned. “Really? I’m Miki Sayaka. Nice to meet you!” She whispered back.
…Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all…
The rest of the day turned out to be quite eventful. As soon as free period began, the two ponies were surrounded by multitudes of questions, each more difficult to answer than the first as boys and girls were eager to find out more about these foreign beauties that graced their school.
As the crowd got louder and Fluttershy felt more pressured, all went silent as a pink pigtailed girl made her way to the center of the circle.
Kaname Madoka.
The girl sweatdropped as she faced the students. “Ano…don’t you think you’re scaring them? They don’t look so relaxed with you pressuring them like this…Please, let’s all give them some space?” She ended the sentence in what sounded like a question to the crowd.
Rainbow didn’t know what she said entirely, but eventually the crowd died down suddenly, and she found that she could breathe again without having to hear another Japanese question.
Madoka giggled. “Gomen, they really like transfer students…” She said, her dialect twisting into a strange accent as she attempted her own effort in speaking English to the two.
Rainbow nodded as she looked up at the girl. “Arigatou…they were actually starting to really bug me. Thanks for the breather.”
The pigtailed girl shook her head. “Iya, Iya, do not worry about it! You both just looked so troubled…I wanted to help.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Arigatou…” She said, her voice soft and a little meek.
Why didn’t Miss Homura want her contracting? She was such a sweet girl…but she had too much power to maintain a healthy Soul Gem? Why?
The blue-haired girl known as Sayaka walked over. “Madoka, did you wanna go eat lunch?” Noticing the two foreigners, she looked over with a grin. “Hello!” She spoke in English.
Rainbow blinked at the newcomer. “Uh, hey. How’s it going?”
Madoka nodded. “Mmm, let’s go eat on the roof as usual, ne?” Looking back towards the two, she gave a bright smile. “Take care, ne?”
Fluttershy nodded as she felt her face flush from embarrassment. “Oh, um…Arigatou!”
Without another word, the pink and blue haired girls ran out of the room, eager to continue with their own lives. They most likely did have their agendas, after all.
…Fascinating that neither Miki Sayaka nor Kaname Madoka understood that you two are also Magical Girls.
Rainbow jumped at the sudden intrusion into her head.
H-Hey, Cubes?! Really?! Ask a mare before you invade her head!
Fluttershy nodded as she also got over the initial shock.
It’s really…um, inconvenient, if you could ask…if you want to…Can that Sayaka girl also become a Magical Girl? Does she even know about it?
Kyuubey nodded.
I had the opportunity to contact both girls in the mall shortly before I met you two. They are acquainted with Tomoe Mami, and are both in the process of finding their wishes.
Rainbow frowned. If things went Cubes’ way, there’d be a lot of Magical Girls to fight the big bad Witch…but if they also had to conserve Grief Seeds, wouldn’t too many be a bad thing for all of them?
If it put Fluttershy’s life on the line, then it definitely was.
…Those two girls shouldn’t make a contract if their lives weren't in danger.
Yup, that’s what she was gonna roll with. And she’d try to keep it that way.
‘…For once, Home Run and I have a common goal.’ She thought to herself.
…Scary.